Mars Telecommunications Orbiter
Mission type | Planetary science, Mars exploration |
---|---|
Operator | NASA |
Website | JPL's MTO web page at the Wayback Machine (archived September 24, 2005) |
Mission duration | 1-year cruise plus 10 years in orbit (planned) |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | Launch cancelled |
Rocket | Delta-4M. |
Contractor | JPL |
Orbital parameters | |
Semi-major axis | 5,000 km (3,106.9 mi) |
| |
The Mars Telecommunications Orbiter (MTO) was a cancelled Mars mission that was originally intended to launch in 2009 and would have established an Interplanetary Internet between Earth and Mars.[1][2] The spacecraft would have arrived in a high orbit above Mars in 2010 and relayed data packets to Earth from a variety of Mars landers, rovers and orbiters for as long as ten years, at an extremely high data rate. Such a dedicated communications satellite was thought to be necessary due to the vast quantity of scientific information to be sent to Earth by landers such as the Mars Science Laboratory.[3]
On July 21, 2005, it was announced that MTO had been canceled due to the need to support other short-term goals, including a
Data transfer technology
The Mars Telecommunications Orbiter would have carried
MTO would have had two 15 W X-band radio transmitters, and two Ka-band radio transmitters (35 W operational, and 100 W experimental).[1]
Proposed successors
After the cancellation, a broader mission was proposed as the Mars Science and Telecommunications Orbiter.[6] However, this mission was soon criticized as lacking well-defined parameters and objectives.[7] Another mission has since been proposed as the 2013 Mars Science Orbiter.[8]
The communications capability provided by the
But both follow science orbits not designed for relay communications.Around 2014, a concern in NASA is that the currently used relay satellite,
As of 2018, the proposed
See also
- Laser space communication
- Laser Communications Relay Demonstration – NASA payload launched in 2021
- Optical PAyload for Lasercomm Science– Optical communications test in 2014 between earth and ISS (OPALS)
- Deep Space Optical Communications – Spacecraft communication system using lasers
References
- ^ hdl:2014/38660.
- ^ NASA To Test Laser Communications With Mars Spacecraft; By Brian Berger, Space News, 25 May 2005.
- Space News. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
- ^ Text of a Letter from the President to the Speaker of the House of Representatives July 15, 2005 | SpaceRef
- ^ Townes, Stephen A.; et al. "The Mars Laser Communication Demonstration" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 27, 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
- ^ NASA (March 2006). "NASA MEPAG: Mars Science and Telecommunications Orbiter (DRAFT)". Archived from the original on 2012-09-05.
- ISBN 978-0-309-10273-5.
- ^ Mars Science Orbiter (PDF). MEPAG. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-05.
- ^ "ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO)". European Space Agency. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
- ^ Dan Leone (24 February 2015). "NASA Eyes New Mars Orbiter for 2022". Space News.
- ^ Stephen, Clark (July 27, 2014). "NASA considers commercial telecom satellites at Mars". Space Flight Now. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
It is due to arrive at Mars in September, but MAVEN's planned orbit is not ideal for collecting and sending rover data.
- ^ Newest NASA Mars Orbiter Demonstrates Relay Prowess. November 10, 2014.
- ^ Stephen, Clark (March 3, 2015). "NASA eyes ion engines for Mars orbiter launching in 2022". Space Flight Now. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
- ^ Leone, Dan (February 24, 2015). "NASA Eyes New Mars Orbiter for 2022". Space News. Washington, DC. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
- ^ Clark, Stephen (April 9, 2018). "NASA is counting on long-lived Mars orbiter lasting another decade". Spaceflight Now. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
- ^ LADEE