Hermes-DSN: Cloud-Native Deep-Space Network Emulator

Overview

Hermes-DSN is a modular, cloud-native software suite engineered to emulate high-latency, intermittent deep-space communications (Earth-to-Mars channels) and implement resilient Delay-Tolerant Networking (DTN) protocols.

Developed by Enciso Systems, this framework addresses NASA FY26 Civil Space Shortfall SF07 (Need 7.01) by mitigating data disruptions, packet loss, and multi-minute light-time propagation delays in deep-space telemetry and scientific imaging pipelines.

Core Capabilities

• Emulation of Earth-to-Mars communication channels with realistic latency and disruption modelling.
• Implementation of Bundle Protocol (BP) and Licklider Transmission Protocol (LTP) for DTN.
• Cloud-native microservices architecture for scalable, reproducible test environments.
• End-to-end pipeline validation for deep-space telemetry and scientific imaging data.
• Designed to meet NASA FY26 Civil Space Shortfall SF07 — Need 7.01.

Why It Matters

Deep-space missions face communication windows measured in minutes, not milliseconds. A single packet loss can corrupt hours of scientific data. Hermes-DSN provides the emulation infrastructure to design, test, and harden communication pipelines before hardware is ever launched.