What is the maximum distance Sojourner can stray from the lander and still relay data effectively? (Does flat terrain allow Sojourner to travel much greater distances?
Sojourner can range 500m from the lander before communication (as determined by bit error rate) degrades. This distance was confirmed in tests conducted with engineering models of the modem for both the rover and lander. The actual performance on Mars may be affected by factors such as temperature and terrain. We expect to conduct simple experiments during the mission to help measure the performance of the communication system. Back to the top of the page.
