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NASA tests an Internet for deep space

NASA has announced a successful test of deep space communications to a NASA science spacecraft about 20 million miles from Earth.

The first so-called “Deep Space Internet” uses software technology called Disruption-Tolerant Networking (DTN), and transports data in a different way to the modern day Internet on Earth, which uses the TCP/IP protocol as the transport mechanism.

DTN was designed by NASA and Vint Cerf, who is vice president of Google.  It took them 10 years to develop the new protocol.  Cerf also co-designed the TCP/IP protocol.  Unlike TCP/IP, the DTN protocol does not rely on a continuous end-to-end connection.  If a packet of data cannot be sent, it is kept until it can connect to a node and eventually onto its destination node.

The successful test involved sending dozens of images to and from NASA’s Exposi spacecraft, which acted as a Mars data-relay orbiter.

Adrian Hooke, team lead and manager of space-networking architecture, technology and standards at NASA said: “This is the first step in creating a totally new space communications capability, an interplanetary Internet.”

Full news story at NASA