BEACON eSpace at Jet Propulsion Laboratory: G. Marconi Orbiter: the first interplanetary communications satellite

The ASI/NASA G. Marconi Orbiter (GMO) will provide relay communications, timing and radiometric services to spacecraft approaching Mars and to relay users in the vicinity of Mars from 2008 to 2018. GMO will increase the quantity of data that relay users can send to Earth by orders of magnitude and dramatically increase the time during which operators on Earth can be in contact with robotic explorers on Mars. The GMO design team is developing standard processes and interfaces in cooperation with the de- signers of other Mars orbiters to enable relay users to easily access multiple relay orbiters.