Communication coverage and cost of the deep space network for a Mars manned flyby mission

Abstract

An analysis and results are presented in this paper for the amount of usage and communications cost of the deep space network (DSN) for a Mars manned flyby mission. A survey of communication needs of past manned space missions was conducted, including those for the moon, International Space Station (ISS), and Space Shuttle. A Mars flyby trajectory was created in order to analyze the dynamic communication link between the spacecraft and the DSN. Based on the data throughput requirements obtained, a trade space of spacecraft telecommunication systems is presented. DSN usage (in numbers of hours) for the 34 m and 70 m antennas is tabulated. Finally, a trade study of cost for the DSN aperture fee for the Mars manned flyby mission is computed