HiRISE took its first photo of Mars on 24 March 2006 (Image: NASA) Topographic data allowed scientists to make 3-D models of surface features, such as a raised ridge and impact craters (False colour image: NASA/JPL/U Arizona/USGS)
THE interplanetary information superhighway is heading for gridlock. The sort of uncongested communications that we now take for granted on Earth are an unheard-of luxury in space, as NASA’s decades-old network of dishes and relays struggles with spiralling traffic from dozens of space missions.
The need for an upgrade is becoming urgent with the advent of a new generation of spacecraft carrying powerful…
