Review of channel models for deep space communications

This paper presents a comprehensive review of channel models for deep space communications. Based on the characteristics of environment, deep space channels can be divided into three kinds, i.e., near Earth link, interstellar link and near planet link. The modeling for different kinds of channels are summarized respectively, and some simulation results are provided in this paper. In addition, according to the development trend of deep space communications, optical wave will become an important carrier in the future. Therefore, deep space optical communication is also briefly introduced. Finally, challenges of deep space channel modeling are pointed out and future research direction is also discussed.