China's research base Zhongshan Station in Antarctica has successfully established a high-speed satellite internet network for the first time, providing researchers with vastly improved communication facilities, according to the Polar Research Institute of China.
The network speed at Zhongshan Station has reached nearly 100 Mbps, a massive upgrade from the previous 2G-level connectivity. Additionally, video call latency has been reduced to just 0.3 seconds, with trials showing seamless communication with the Shanghai-based Smart Skynet's control center.
In the absence of ground-based infrastructure like fiber optics in the harsh Antarctic environment, all communications relied on satellite networks. The newly implemented satellite functions similarly to a household router, with increased bandwidth translating to faster internet speed.
Hu Zejun, head of the 40th Antarctic expedition team at Zhongshan Station, talked about the challenges of previous connectivity.
"Previously, the station's internet speed was just 8 Mbps, which was shared among 80 to 100 people, leading to congestion," said Hu, also assistant to the leader of China's 41st Antarctic expedition team.
Under those conditions, team members could only browse text-based websites and typically communicated with colleagues in China through text messages.
The recent upgrade is attributed to two key innovations: the domestically developed satellite and the "Smart Sky Network."
Historically, Zhongshan Station relied on a foreign satellite located approximately 36,000 kilometers above Earth. The geostationary satellite provided strong signals near the equator but weakened significantly as one moved towards the high latitudes of Antarctica.
"This satellite 'directly faces' the equator, providing a strong signal in that region. However, as one moves towards the high latitudes of Antarctica, the satellite's angle becomes more 'oblique,' resulting in a weaker signal,”said Yan Jian, a researcher at Tsinghua University and deputy chief engineer of the "Smart Skynet" Project.
To ensure that Antarctica receives sufficiently strong and stable satellite signals, the satellite needs to move beyond the equatorial region and be launched into a non-geostationary orbit below 36,000 kilometers.
To address this issue, researchers at Tsinghua University identified the need for satellites operating at lower altitudes. By utilizing a medium Earth orbit (MEO) synchronous orbital at around 20,000 kilometers, they devised a network of eight satellites that can achieve global coverage. Each satellite orbits the Earth twice a day at a specific angle, forming the " Smart Skynet," which provides high-speed and stable communication for the Antarctic station.
"We have launched the first satellite of the Smart Skynet, which can provide approximately one hour of high-speed satellite communication daily between Zhongshan Station and the Polar Research Center in Shanghai, located 12,000 kilometers apart. The plan is to complete the launch of all eight satellites by 2027, which will enable 24-hour high-speed satellite communication for Antarctic research teams," said Yan.
The technology developed under the MEO synchronous orbital research has independent intellectual property rights and has been granted international patents.
The increase in internet speed has also facilitated the maintenance and upgrading of research equipment. For instance, Professor Liu Guofeng from China University of Geosciences (Beijing) encountered issues with a drone that required a firmware upgrade.
"Now, we can complete such upgrades in about 40 minutes, enabling us to implement aerial survey projects," he said.
Beyond scientific work, the upgraded network has improved the quality of life for researchers at Zhongshan Station. They can now enjoy video calls with family, watch television, and stream videos online, offering a welcome respite from the demanding conditions of Antarctic life.
China's Zhongshan Station in Antarctica gets major internet upgrade via domestic satellite
