This artist's still shows how NASA's Curiosity rover will communicate with Earth during landing.

August 05, 2012

This artist's still shows how NASA's Curiosity rover will communicate with Earth during landing. As the rover descends to the surface of Mars, it will send out two different types of data: basic radio-frequency tones that go directly to Earth (pink dashes) and more complex UHF radio data (blue circles) that require relaying by orbiters. NASA's Odyssey orbiter will pick up the UHF signal and relay it immediately back to Earth, while NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will record the UHF data and play it back to Earth at a later time.

Watch the Video:
Communicating with Curiosity

Credits

NASA/JPL-Caltech

ENLARGE

You Might Also Like