Mars Network operations concept

NASA has initiated at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory the design of a Communications and Navigation Network at Mars. It will consist of a constellation of low-altitude orbiting satellites and one or more aerostationary (of synchronous orbit around Mars) satellites. The key Mars Network operations concept is to provide standard services and pave a way for interoperability of future Mars Missions. It is envisioned that the Mars Network will provide four types of services: telemetry and command data relay, position determination, time synchronization, and proximity link telecom performance data service. Both scheduled and demand access paradigms were considered as options for the user to access these services. The adoption of the Consultative Committee for Space Data System (CCSDS) Proximity Link (proximity-1) protocol ensures the interoperability at the data link layer. The CCSDS File Delivery Protocol (CFDP) ensures the interoperability at the message and file transfer layer. One important feature of the Mars Network operation is that the orbiting satellites of the Mars Network are indistinguishable from the user's point of view. A user's data transfer transaction started with one satellite can be continued with another satellite. This "cloud" topology greatly simplifies the users operations. We also introduce the concept of file based operation. The file based operation for Mars Network promotes autonomous network operations and provides better data accountability.