Hardware for an IPN

NASA set up targets for building communication architecture in Mars for the next 20 to 30 years. In a paper they published , they described their intention of sending Science orbiters with communication capability to Mars, which eventually will form some sort of satellite network. This will mean that Robotic Landers and Mars rovers can send information to these orbiters. These orbiters will then in turn send the data back to Earth-based DSN using radio frequency (RF) equipments which operate in the X-band or Ka-band frequencies.

Protocols for Data Transmission

Even with all the hardware installed for a communication network, the important issue which must be resolved is what language they all communicate in. This is defined by the protocol. Therefore, there is a need for standardisation of the protocols. Furthermore, to promote transparency, and to reduce cost for software development, some of the existing protocols such as Internet Protocol (IP) and languages such as Java, Java Script, HTML etc can be used. However, there are still some problems that must be resolved. The service that must be accommodated by the protocols in this deep-space network includes long propagation delay times, power attenuation of the signal and possibility of data loss. With these problems solved, a standardised protocol can enable a long-lasting network which may be implemented as a sub-network of a larger network in the solar system which is defined by the IPN.

Furthermore, on the context within Mars network, there is already a standard emerging from the LAN on board the Mars Rovers, such as standard naming and addressing schemes. Hence, the interface for on board communication needs is defined. Integrating this type of protocol into the common protocols, the communication architecture will allow for a simplified access of resources.