# Mars to Get Broadband Connection **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 5, 2005, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-to-get-broadband-connection/302606 "2005-05-05T22:23:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-to-get-broadband-connection/302606/1 "2005-05-05T22:23:59Z")
[I guess Spirit and Opportunity have been bitching about how long it takes for them to download porn.](http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/technology/technovel_marstelecom_050505.html) > [@](#): > > The more modest Mars Telecommunications Orbiter is expected to transmit data at a rate of 1 megabit per second when Mars is furthest from Earth and reception takes place during the day. When Mars is at its closest approach and reception takes place at night, data transmission rates of 10-30 megabits per second are expected. In contrast, NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter transmits data at about 128,000 bits per second, about twice as fast as a dial-up connection. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-to-get-broadband-connection/302606/2 "2005-05-05T22:40:32Z")
I hear the ping times are pretty atrocious. ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-to-get-broadband-connection/302606/3 "2005-05-05T22:47:22Z")
Yeah, they don’t even bother posting to the boards during high traffic times. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-to-get-broadband-connection/302606/4 "2005-05-05T22:52:00Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I hear the ping times are pretty atrocious. In all seriousness, NASA is working on how to deal with that, so that astronauts on the way to Mars can still surf the net. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-to-get-broadband-connection/302606/5 "2005-05-05T22:59:09Z")
> [@Amp](#): > > Yeah, they don’t even bother posting to the boards during high traffic times. I thought this board was hosted on Titan? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2005, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-to-get-broadband-connection/302606/6 "2005-05-05T22:59:48Z")
you know, if I could surf the net in space, i would die happy. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-to-get-broadband-connection/302606/7 "2005-05-06T00:10:19Z")
Or at least tumescent. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-to-get-broadband-connection/302606/8 "2005-05-06T00:34:15Z")
> [@Tuckerfan](#): > > In all seriousness, NASA is working on how to deal with that, so that astronauts on the way to Mars can still surf the net. Maybe they should ask for a copy of the employee handbook first to see what sort of surfing is allowed. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2005, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-to-get-broadband-connection/302606/9 "2005-05-06T01:06:55Z")
Is there a Mars webcam? How do you access it? Man, I’d love to see what’s going on on Mars-those sunsets look great!