How do astronauts 'catch' Wifi networks on Mars?

Although we have not yet been able to set foot on Mars, our ambitions on this planet are undeniable .

With the continuous advancement of technology, perhaps in just a few decades, astronauts will successfully land on Mars.

The dream of "walking on Mars" may soon come true. (Photo: Science News).

At this point, the first thing to do is find a way to contact each other. And setting up an Internet network can be the solution to all problems.

However, connecting to the Internet with Earth - which is hundreds of millions of kilometers away from Mars - will be impossible. Instead, astronauts will need a different strategy.

Transmitting data using lasers in space

Claire Parfitt, systems engineer at the European Space Agency (ESA), affirmed that establishing a good communications infrastructure is essential for human missions to Mars.

Researchers are currently testing solutions to upgrade the existing network along with several alternative solutions.

For example, NASA's Psyche mission launching in October 2023 will test interplanetary communication using lasers . The reason is because lasers can carry more data than the radio waves that have been used since the early days of space exploration.

NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications Technology is testing laser communications at distances farther than the Moon. (Photo: NASA).

Using lasers to communicate in space is not a new idea, but they have never been tested at distances farther than the Moon.

This method has brought certain success. Typically, in mid-November 2023, the Psyche satellite transmitted data to Earth from a distance of 16 million km - 40 times farther than the Moon. In December, it sent another video from a distance of 31 million km.

However, there are certain limitations, such as it requires high precision in signal direction, is susceptible to cloud cover, and is interrupted if certain atmospheric effects are encountered.

Bringing the Internet to Mars: Humanity's new goal

Mars explorers, not to mention future inhabitants, will surely want to do more than send messages back and forth.

They will want a setup that resembles Earth's Internet - something they can use for everything from sharing photos to accessing huge databases.

In June 2023, Technische Universität Berlin (Germany) proposed that if a group of satellites orbiting Mars could be deployed, this could be a viable source of Internet supply.

Essentially, the proposed network would operate similarly to the Starlink satellites operating in low Earth orbit and operated by SpaceX.

On Earth, broadband Internet and satellite cell phone coverage is very expensive. But on Mars, such a system could be cheaper and easier to build.

The idea is to build a network of 81 satellites that will serve as Internet coverage for the entire Mars. (Photo: Satcom).

After doing the calculations, Tobias Pfandzelter and David Bermbach, two cloud computing experts from Technische Universität Berlin, believe that a total of 81 low-orbit satellites orbiting Mars are needed to cover the entire planet. .

The system will provide a local communications network, and be an extension of the Internet on Earth.

"The interesting thing is that it will bring a 'no-latency' experience like when we watch a movie on Netflix ," Pfandzelter shared. "That's because all your data is replicated locally ".

According to this expert, putting Internet satellites into orbit around Mars would also be a more economical solution, because it does not require infrastructure on the surface - where landing devices can take up a large part. mission budget.

Many people may think that the idea of ​​building an operating system on Mars is too far-fetched, when we cannot even set foot on this planet.

However, Tobias Pfandzelter does not think so. He believes that early planning for possible solutions is extremely important.

"Not only does it solve the challenges, but it also benefits future astronauts on Mars, perhaps even helping them get there sooner ," Pfandzelter said.

It can be seen that before Neil Armstrong first set foot on the Moon in the Apollo 11 mission, NASA also went through 10 previous missions, along with many other elaborate preparation steps.

Before the new race, competition mixed with cooperation between countries is expected to shorten that process, and even soon make humanity's dream of "walking on the Red Planet " come true.