[X] My Assistant

[Redstone]

NASA Press Release

"The instruments and the ground data system passed this test with flying colors," said Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project Manager Jim Graf of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "We received 75 gigabits of data in less than 24 hours, which is a new one-day record for any interplanetary mission."

In the absence of MTO, this sounds like good news. What I would like to know is what this means for expected data rates from Mars.

[um3k]

75 gigabits. That is approximately 9.3 gigabytes, isn't it? That's more than a DVD can hold! Hopefully HD-DVD or Blu-Ray DVD burners are around by the time MRO goes into full swing...

[tedstryk]

75 gigabits. That is approximately 9.3 gigabytes, isn't it?   That's more than a DVD can hold! Hopefully HD-DVD or Blu-Ray DVD burners are around by the time MRO goes into full swing...

But can it do this from Mars consistently? I am sure it can at opposition (they wouldn't have given it the capability if they couldn't use it), but I wonder about what it can do when it is farther away.

[mcaplinger]

But can it do this from Mars consistently? 

The max transmission rate at minimum Earth-Mars range is about 3.5 Mbits/s to the DSN 70m antennas. At maximum range the rate is about 600 Kbits/s. The daily data volume in mapping is between 40 and 90 Gbits (depending on range, length and number of comm passes and which DSN antennas are used.)

See the MRO Launch Press Kit for more details.