• brianorca@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    2
    ·
    1 year ago

    We use very large radio dishes to communicate with craft at Mars, so that the spacecraft can use smaller dishes and less power. In order to add a relay at L4/L5, that relay would also need very large dishes and high power usage to reach the craft at Mars. Probably larger than anything we have in earth orbit today.

      • brianorca@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 year ago

        Maybe in the future, but the existing Mars orbiters need to hear a strong radio signal. And laser communication has not yet been tested outside of Earth orbit. It will need to be significantly scaled up to handle the 2-3AU distance.