Researchers develop NASA protocols for time-delay challenges
Tuesday, July 14, 2015 - 08:00
in Astronomy & Space
Astronauts on board the Pioneer, a spacecraft heading home from Mars, are categorizing asteroid samples when their life-support system suddenly malfunctions. The only person who can help is the NASA engineer with the information they need to get the system up and running. But in deep space, communication is delayed—each message takes five minutes to transmit, followed by another five minutes to get a response. Their communications grow panicked, responses get confused, and the minutes between each message seem to drag on.