What is the data rate between the rover and the lander, and how far away can the rover travel away from the lander?
The lander and rover carry 9600baud radio modems. With allowance for the data transfer protocols, the effective data rate between these systems is 2400bps. The communication range of the rover has been measured in tests with engineering models of the modem at 500m. At that range, the link degrades (as determined by bit error rate) for reliable communication. After 10m, the rover is effectively beyond the imaging range of the lander. These images from the lander are used by ground-based operators to plan rover operations. Beyond 10m, rover images will be used to plan traverses. Back to the top of the page.
