Back to Mars

[Michael O'Dell]

Joseph Bento wrote:
> There used to be a time when ham radio operators were at the forefront  
> of technology.  This lander probably has a five watt or so  
> transmitter, and look at the quality of the images returned from 400  
> million miles away!  Makes a terrestrial DX contact seem a bit  
> meaningless.  Of course NASA has a bit of an advantage in the antenna  
> department.  Not everyone can have acres of large parabolics at home.   

it's not "just" big antennas. the direct-sequence spread-spectrum
modulation they use lets the watts they have accomplish a lot more.

	-mo