Deep space communications are very challenging because of the extreme distances between spacecraft and Earth. Spacecraft communications equipment, designed to be lightweight and compact, transmits at very low power (around 20 watts). Signal power arriving at a 70-meter (230-foot) antenna, such as the one shown here at the Madrid Deep Space …
Deep space communications are very challenging because of the extreme distances between spacecraft and Earth. Spacecraft communications equipment, designed to be lightweight and compact, transmits at very low power (around 20 watts). Signal power arriving at a 70-meter (230-foot) antenna, such as the one shown here at the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex (MDSCC), can be as weak as a billionth of a billionth of a watt, 20 billion times less than the power required by a digital wrist watch.