A radio signal in vacuum takes the distance divided by 299,792.458 km/s. One of those kilometers is one second. That identity is the check. [1]

NASA's 2024 architecture note puts the longest one-way delay on its example Mars missions at about 22 minutes, while the crew is at Mars or just after departure. A close approach is only a few minutes, and the minutes change with the date. This page will not fetch that date. [2]

Screen

Type a distance in kilometers. Leave it blank and the form refuses. The round trip is twice the one-way time. Plasma, relays, and a conjunction blackout are not in the division. Timekeeping on Mars is the sol clock. Pass volume is how much of a daily product fits in one pass.

Class A on a distance you type

Screening sheet. Not for flight, medicine, or operations. Empty distance is a refusal. Not today's Mars.

One-way time is the distance you type divided by 299,792.458 km/s. Round trip is twice that. The long envelope of 22 minutes is the NASA 2024 example-mission note, not an output of this form. A close approach is a few minutes and is not stored as today's value.

See also

References

  1. NIST. Defined speed of light. https://physics.nist.gov/cgi-bin/cuu/Value?c
  2. NASA. Mars communications disruption and delay. 2024. Maximum one-way delay about 22 minutes on the example missions. https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/mars-communications-disruption-and-delay.pdf

Categories

Engineering