  The prospect of mankind returning to the Moon has garnered a great amount of
attention in recent years. Dozens of lunar missions are planned for the coming
decade which will require the development of a sustainable communication
infrastructure with high data rates and minimal latency. Space communication
systems thus far have relied on Radio Frequency (RF) links alone, but recent
developments in laser communications have demonstrated that Free Space Optical
(FSO) links can achieve much higher data rates. Upon considering the respective
benefits and drawbacks of RF and FSO links, we make a case for the integration
of these two technologies into a hybrid RF/FSO lunar communications
architecture which leverages small satellites in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO)
constellation. We include a case study for this technology designed in
Analytical Graphics Systems Tool Kit (STK) software. Results are presented in
terms of chain access duration, propagation delay, transmission loss,
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR), and Bit Error Rate (BER). This architecture shows
potential to revolutionize extraterrestrial communications and pave the way for
highly ambitious future missions in space.
