LongT iesūtīja saiti uz SpaceWeather.com, kur ir rakstīts burtiski sekojošais.

NASA has developed a new communications protocol called Disruption-Tolerant Networking or DTN that allows Internet-style networking of remote spacecraft. DTN works during solar storms and eclipses, and it can handle extreme transmission delays typical of outer space communication. Using DTN, NASA has just tested a 10-node Interplanetary Internet.

Detalizēts apraksts ir atrodams NASA lapā.

DTN darbības princips būtiski atšķirās no mūsu ierastā TCP/IP protokola.

The Interplanetary Internet must be robust enough to withstand delays, disruptions and disconnections in space. Glitches can happen when a spacecraft moves behind a planet, or when solar storms and long communication delays occur. The delay in sending or receiving data from Mars takes between three-and-a-half to 20 minutes at the speed of light.

Unlike TCP/IP on Earth, the DTN does not assume a continuous end-to-end connection. In its design, if a destination path can’t be found, the data packets are not discarded. Instead, each network node keeps custody of the information as long as necessary until it can safely communicate with another node. This store-and-forward method, similar to basketball players safely passing the ball to the player nearest the basket, means that information does not get lost when no immediate path to the destination exists. Eventually, the information is delivered to the end user.

Interesanti ir tas, ka šī protokola izstrādē piedalās nevienam nezināmā kompānija Google.

NASA and Vint Cerf, a vice president at Google, Inc., in Mountain View, Calif., partnered 10 years ago to develop this software protocol.

Nu re, internets drīzumā būs pieejams arī kosmosā, tā kā atliek tikai sacelt mājas un izsūtīt uz turieni mūsu miljonārus, lai apgūst jaunos kosmosa plašumus. Varēs rakstīt savu blogu un publicēt bildītes no Marsa.