Could the TCP/IP protocol increase the bandwidth and optimize communication with spacecraft at the edge of the solar system, instead of the point-to-point communication customized for each spacecraft? Google's vice president promises to develop the interplanetary Internet
The collaboration between NASA and Google is tightening. After the google earth and sky initiatives and even following Purchase of an experimental plane for NASA A new initiative is coming that is led by the vice president of Google and the chief evangelist of the Internet, Vin Cerf, an experiment will be done on the International Space Station, with a new transmission technology of data between space and the Earth. In 2009, he hopes that the International Space Station will host a prototype of an interplanetary Internet that could lead to the standardization of communication between Earth and space, replacing the point-to-point communication between each spacecraft and the Earth, which has been used since the beginning of the space age.
The partnership opens up some exciting new possibilities for the future of long-distance communications in the solar system. Manned and robotic spacecraft will be able to communicate with each other in a stable interplanetary network without the problems currently associated with incompatible communication systems.
"The project began ten years ago as an attempt to assess which networking standards would be useful in supporting interplanetary communications." Seraf said in a recent interview with him. "Consider that we have added robotic equipment at the edge of the solar system and on planets, asteroids, comets since the 1964s. We were able to contact these robotic devices as well as manned flights using point-to-point radio communication. To carry out many of these tasks, we operated a dedicated communication network known as the "Deep Space Network" built by JPL in XNUMX.
"In fact, the deep space network has become the backbone of interplanetary communication for many decades, but its upgrade is now required as we want to increase the fleet of robotic missions that explore everything - from the surface of Mars to the outer regions of the solar system. Wouldn't it be nice if a communication network could be standardized before humans start going out of orbit around the earth?"
"When we launch a spacecraft with a unique series of sensors inside it, we are forced to write communication software and dedicated applications that match those of the sensors' operating system and perform manipulations," said Seraf, explaining why a uniform standard is required.
The Internet uses the standard TCP/IP protocol so that billions of online entities are always compatible with each other. Although the Internet also has limitations, it has been proven to be a flexible and scalable system, so with the help of Google, NASA hopes to push forward the Internet outside the Earth. "The goal of the interplanetary internet project is to develop a series of communication standards and technical specifications to support the existence of a rich network in the space environment," Seraf added.
It all sounds interesting, but it is quite a challenge and full of obstacles, so such a system will require some innovative techniques. How can the light speed limit be handled? After all, it takes light 40 minutes to cover the distance to and from Mars, and up to 12 hours to Pluto and back. How do you adapt the system to the rotation of the planets around their axis and around the sun? The transmitters and receivers will not always be on the right side of the planet. What will happen if a signal coming from a satellite orbiting another planet is blocked by a planet, the sun or the moon?
According to Seraf, the distribution of information transmissions must take into account the fact of delay and therefore the network must be tolerant to delays and tolerant to interruptions (DATA TOLERANT NETWORK or DTN for short. "This network will allow us to maintain communication with higher efficiency, we will be able to transmit and receive much more data because we will not have to be in direct line of sight with the final receiver for the purpose of transferring the data" he said.
DTN will be based on the store-and-forward approach used in TCP/IP systems. If there is an interruption to the transmission of the signal, the relay station will stop the data packet until the signal is restored. However, DTN will be much more rigid, and will also take into account the interplanetary transmission gap - even a gap of many hours like the one that exists between the Earth and the edge of the solar system. "We will be able to deal with the fact that there is a great potential for delays and disruptions in the system," he said.
The TCP/IP protocol will operate transparently with the DTN, allowing planetary missions to maintain their own decentralized Internet while using the DTN as a link through interplanetary space. Now we just have to wait for the first astronauts to land on Mars to start a blog.
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An exemplary article.
Thanks.
In the future, all Internet sites on Earth will be transmitted to other planets, so for example, an astronaut who surfs the Internet on Mars will be able to do so as freely as if he were on Earth.
Of course, any interactive activity will occur only after another update from Earth.
Imagine surfing from Mars on the Vinet website, while watching the news from Earth with a delay of only 40 minutes. It is hardly noticeable. On the other hand, if the astronaut writes a talkback, it will appear on the site only after the delay (round trip). The same goes for sending emails.
I wonder how long it will take to order a targeted business meal from Earth?
Now the astronauts in space will be able to sit in front of the Internet and download porn in space too 🙂
It's a bit strange to call it the Internet knowing that PING between DHA and Mars for example takes between 4 and 20 minutes... Anyone who sees in their head something along the lines of surfing can forget about it...
A space network does not come to answer the problem of bandwidth. You can get any bandwidth you want, in the current space connection.
In my opinion, the main problem in the space network is not in the unification of the protocol, but in the physical layer of the network - in this case, the radio channels.
In contrast to a satellite connection between the Earth and some space station, where the antennas on both sides are directed in the same direction as the other, and if you want to increase the quality of the channel, you install a better antenna on Earth so that the transmission from Earth is more concentrated towards the distant station and the reception sensitivity on Earth also improves, so there is an improvement in both directions of the channel.
Stations that have to receive and transmit in different directions, cause a decrease in the quality of the channel due to dispersion of the transmission beam and loss of reception sensitivity.
On the other hand, antennas change direction as needed - this is not a simple technological challenge.
Evangelist
(SA) preacher of Christianity; each of the writers of the four gospels
And perhaps the intention and hope here is only to the spreader of the gospel. In the Internet row, in the Google row, in the I don't know what row.
But why do they use religious concepts? Because in my opinion, those people who quickly rose to greatness (Gogol, etc.) and what... came to their minds, think that they are the harbingers of salvation and if they are not God Himself, they are at least His messengers on earth.
It's good that people still have the ability to choose (I hope) and only that they don't start computer religious wars, internet crusades and google inquisition.
indeed the spreaders of the gospel.
In recent years, many technology companies have a function called evangelists - what they once called consultants - people who have held various positions in the field and gained a lot of experience in a specific field, and they move from country to country and talk to the company's customers about what is expected in their specific industry. Of course, the ultimate goal is sales, but they try to give a broader picture.
Just as an example, about a year ago in Israel there was a conference with Sun evangelists, each of whom specializes in a specific field such as Java or Linux.
The source, of course, are the evangelical Christians, those charismatic extremists who try to sell their religion to the masses with their power of persuasion.
Avi,
"A new initiative led by the vice president of Google and the chief evangelist of the Internet"
What is the Chief Evangelist of the Internet?