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Whatever Happened To The Mars Network?

Posted by timothy on from the blast-from-the-recent-past dept.

mhw25 writes "There is a NASA/JPL project, conceptualised back in 1999, that proposed to launch a Mars Network. It boldly projected that "Deployment of a prototype Microsat, tentatively scheduled for 2003, would be the first step in creating this Mars "Internet."" With 2003 drawing to a close and no .mars domain registration offered, perhaps it is time NASA and other space agencies to rethink and revisit this worthy project, especially in light of the recent problems faced by the Beagle2."

21 comments

  1. Isn't that basically what is happening now? by Eevee · · Score: 2, Informative

    As I understand it, the Beagle 2 probe is supposed to normally communicate via the orbiting platforms.

    1. Re:Isn't that basically what is happening now? by noselasd · · Score: 1

      "supposed" beeing the keyword.
      Any indications yet it's actually communicating with any of the orbiters ?

  2. Latency...? by skinfitz · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Using regular satellite gear with a sat in geostationary orbit over Germany from the UK I see latency in the realm of 2500ms - 5000ms.

    If it's 9 minutes from Mars to Earth then we will be looking at 540000ms !!

    I wouldn't fancy running a Windows Update over that.

    1. Re:Latency...? by Tumbleweed · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Windows Update wouldn't be that big of a problem - that's more of a bandwidth intensive operation.

      But in gaming, you'd be the Ultimate High Ping Bastard! w00t!

    2. Re:Latency...? by msk · · Score: 1

      Run really big TCP windows.

    3. Re:Latency...? by JJorda · · Score: 1

      If it's 9 minutes from Mars to Earth....

      I thought it was more like 45 minutes for a signal to go from Mars to Earth?

    4. Re:Latency...? by jamesh · · Score: 1

      Probably both depending on where Mars and Earth are in relation to each other. Sometimes there's a great big hot yellow sun in between them too. Maybe need to route via Venus. That's going to add ms.

  3. Answer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Al Gore lost.

  4. New Usenet Newsgroups by rudy_wayne · · Score: 4, Funny

    alt.binaries.martian.pr0n

    Cool!!

    1. Re:New Usenet Newsgroups by nocomment · · Score: 1

      Damn! it's taken along with alt.binaries.martian.gerbil alt.binaries.martian.sluts alt.binaries.martian.sluts.with.farm.animals alt.binaries.martian.xxx

      --
      /* oops I accidentally made a comment, sorry */
      /* http://allyourbasearebelongto.us */
  5. News Flash! by bedessen · · Score: 4, Funny

    News Flash -- Impressive thing of the future fails to materialize as promised. Advocates of the flying car, personal nuclear generator, and personal rocket packs send their condolences to anyone holding out for hopes of an interplanetary network anytime soon.

  6. Interplanetary Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Alive and well, with domains *.mr for Mars. See Astrobiology Magazine and the main project page IPN

  7. Irridium by MarkusQ · · Score: 4, Interesting

    This was my favourite idea for what to do with the Iridium nodes: send up rigs to boost them into a slow (or at least low delta V/sec) orbit to Mars, to set up a communications backbone there. They were pretty much what you'd want for the job, with plenty of capacity to spare.

    As a semi-aside, I get irked by the kneejerk reaction to de-orbit everything, when getting it up there is 90% or so of the cost. If there was ever an environment were recycling made sense...

    -- MarkusQ

    1. Re:Irridium by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting
      I get irked by the kneejerk reaction to de-orbit everything, when getting it up there is 90% or so of the cost.

      I think the bigger problem is that people don't really unstand that LEO isn't really very far into space. (no flame intended, really)

      Sorry I couldn't find better numbers, but your 90% is way off. Here's the best quote I could find.

      Contemporary launch vehicles have launch costs of $10,000 to $20,000 per kilogram of net payload to low Earth orbit (LEO) and $60,000 to $120,000 per kilogram of net payload to geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO).

      It's probably cheaper if you don't "stop" in geosynchronous orbit, but how much is beyond my knowledge.

  8. Ping... by Bob+Cat+-+NYMPHS · · Score: 4, Funny

    ... ...
    (the return signal will be posted in the dupe) ...

    --
    The latest Slashdot meme.
  9. .mars domain.... by Steve+Cox · · Score: 3, Informative

    From what I remember of this in an IEE lecture, they were thinking a bit bigger than a .mars domain.

    They suggested having .mars.sol and .earth.sol. Gives a bit more room for expansion in the future I guess.....

    Steve.

    1. Re:.mars domain.... by Steve+Cox · · Score: 1

      I wasn't the lecture I saw, but I just found a slide on the IPN website that shows their domain naming convention. From what I gather the planet/star combo is dropped for intraplanetary comms and only added when doing interplanetary comms.

      Page 25 of the following PDF:
      http://www.ipnsig.org/reports/ISART9-2000.pdf

  10. I get irked too! by GPS+Pilot · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The worst example of unthinking de-orbiting was Mir. There you had many, many tons of aerospace-grade titanium, aluminum, and steel in orbit. Everybody talked of either continuing to man and maintain Mir, or burning it in. No one considered the third and best option: boost it to a higher orbit where atmospheric drag is neglibile, and wait patiently until it becomes an incredibly valuable resource of raw materials for on-orbit industry.

    --
    That that is is that that that that is not is not.
    1. Re:I get irked too! by man_ls · · Score: 1

      Out past GEO in the decay orbits are thousands of satellites in similar situations...once someone finds out how to go harvest them all, they'll be rich.