Electra (radio)

Electra transceiver installed on the MAVEN orbiter, which was launched in November 2013

Electra, formally called the Electra Proximity Link Payload, is a telecommunications package that acts as a communications relay and navigation aid for Mars spacecraft and rovers.[1][2][3] The use of such a relay increases the amount of data that can be returned by two to three orders of magnitude.

The ultimate goal of Electra is to achieve a higher level of system integration, thus allowing significant mass, power, and size reductions, at lower cost, for a broad class of spacecraft.[4]

  1. ^ "MRO Spacecraft and Instruments: Electra". NASA. 22 November 2007. Archived from the original on 13 February 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  2. ^ Schier, Jim; Edwards, Chad (8 July 2009). "NASA's Mars Telecommunications: Evolving to Meet Robotic and Human Mission Needs" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 14 November 2013.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference EdwardsJr2003 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Satorius, Edgar; Jedrey, Tom; Bell, David; Devereaux, Ann; Ely, Todd; et al. (2006). "The Electra Radio" (PDF). In Hamkins, Jon; Simon, Marvin K. (eds.). Autonomous Software-Defined Radio Receivers for Deep Space Applications. Deep Space Communications and Navigation Series. NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Bibcode:2006asdr.book.....H. Archived from the original on 3 October 2006.