Communications software for a manned Mars mission has been tested at a simulated Mars base. The result of a two-year UK/US project, the software can provide data and text alongside on-screen video of a meeting, which could be between astronauts on Mars or mission control staff on Earth.
The internet-based technology is needed because it takes 40min for a signal to travel from Mars to Earth and back, which would mean mission teams could not speak directly. But complex situations arising during a mission would need to be understood quickly. The presentation of data and other information combined with recorded video of astronauts or mission staff discussing the problem could aid understanding at either end.
"You would see a split screen. It's a web page with separate parts: one for video, one for data and one for a text timeline," says project team member Dr Danius Michaelides, a research fellow at the UK's University of Southampton, which was responsible for the software producing the text timeline to accompany the video.
The communication system requires a high bandwidth because of the video. The simulated Mars base, in the Utah desert and operated by the Mars Society exploration advocacy group, had a 1.5MB/s satellite link. The project also involved NASA, and the UK's Open University and University of Edinburgh, and was partially funded by the UK's Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.
ROB COPPINGER / LONDON
Source: Flight International
