Even as wireless-industry watchers debate whether Wi-Fi technology will be long for this Earth, the Wi-Fi business is preparing to send its wireless communication technology to another planet.
Tropos Networks Inc. has been participating in National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) research on the feasibility of interplanetary exploration, a hot topic as the government unveils new plans for a manned mission to the moon and deliberates the possibility of a manned mission to Mars. NASA chose Wi-Fi technology as the primary communications system for use by astronauts potentially exploring and inhabiting other planets for its research project.
Tropos participated in testing in Arizona’s Meteor Crater, a natural Earth formation that reportedly replicates Mars’ environment and surface. For the project, Tropos completed range and throughput testing for two- and three-node networks covering 1 and 2 square miles, which basically required engineers to wander around the crater with mobile clients to test the network, said Bert Williams, vice president of marketing at Tropos. NASA engineers measured reliable data transmission at 1 megabits per second at a range of 1.3 miles from the base camp using a laptop inside a moving vehicle with no external antenna, according to Tropos.
For future trials, NASA plans to connect multiple nodes in a Wi-Fi network. The group expressed interest in embedding PCs with Wi-Fi client adapters into space suits; connecting multiple computers in an extra-vehicular activity robotic assistant via Wi-Fi, including multiple Wi-Fi nodes in a science trailer and lunar planetary science module; and using Wi-Fi for cameras, microphones and other scientific equipment.
The NASA testing proves that “Wi-Fi isn’t just for hot spots anymore,” said Williams.
