Scientists are now testing ways to upgrade existing networks for use when sending future missions to Mars. Thus, during the Psyche mission, which NASA launched in October to examine an asteroid between Mars and Jupiter, the functioning of interplanetary communication will be tested using lasers. It is known that lasers can transmit much more data than radio waves.
But there is also a time delay in communication between Earth and Mars. The message traveling at the speed of light arrives in 4-24 minutes.
Additionally, when the Sun comes between Mars and Earth, the connection between the planets is interrupted. The last time this happened was in November last year.
In June 2023, Tobias Pfandzelter and David Bermbach of the Technical University of Berlin suggested that a fleet of satellites orbiting Mars could create its own subsidiary Internet for the Red Planet. The proposed Mars network would be similar to Starlink, a constellation of satellites in low Earth orbit. Such a system could be cheaper and easier to build on Mars than on Earth.
Scientists estimate that a network of 81 low-orbit satellites around Mars would be enough to cover the entire planet. As a result, a local Internet will be created.
And all this will be very convenient, because if, for example, a show from Earth were broadcast over the terrestrial internet on Mars, you would have to wait 10, 15, or even 40 minutes to watch it. And this is just for connection.
Placing Internet satellites in orbit around Mars would also be cost-effective because it would not require surface landing infrastructure.
Source: Ferra
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