How Interplanetary Internet Will Work

Wiring the Solar System
Take a look at the the 1997 Mars Pathfinder rover mission and you will understand space explorers need an interplanetary Internet for deep space communications. Data from the Pathfinder trickled back at an average rate of about 300 bits per second during its mission. Most likely, your computer can transfer data at least 200 times faster than that. An Internet between Mars and Earth would likely yield a data transfer rate of 11,000 bits per second. That is still much slower than your computer's transfer rate, but it would be enough to send back more detailed images of the Mars surface. Mars Network researchers think that the transfer rate could eventually go to about 1 Megabyte (8,288,608 bits) per second and allow anyone to take a virtual trip to Mars.