By Bill Maloney, Guest Writer, Red Planet Bound Communicating rapidly and storing information are crucial for settling space, just as they were to our advancements here on Earth. Where would we be without the phone, computer, postal mail, or books? The Boston Post Road, once measured by Benjamin Franklin with an odometer attached to a carriage’s wheel, and committees of correspondence were vital for the colonists in the American Revolution. Books have inspired and educated many, spreading knowledge and wisdom… READ MORE >
Topic Area: Communications
By Lou Farrell, Senior Writer, Red Planet Bound Controlling rovers from hundreds of millions of kilometers away is challenging, to say the least. While they have become considerably more advanced in recent years, latency and bandwidth limitations can hold them back. The next generation of scientific discovery depends on making rovers smarter and more independent. Edge computing capabilities for autonomous Mars rovers represent one of the few technological solutions that can support real-time decision-making outside of Earth’s orbit. The Interplanetary… READ MORE >
The Mars Society announced that its Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) management team has installed SpaceX’s Starlink system at its remote campus in southern Utah to help dramatically improve the facility’s communications network used by analog crews involved in on-site simulation training and field studies. Starlink is a global satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX, providing internet access coverage to dozens of countries around the world, and frequently used in areas where wifi connectivity is typically unreliable or completely unavailable. … READ MORE >