What is the consequence of the one-way time delay for operating a robotic explorer on Mars?
Answer
Operating the rover in real-time is impossible
The inherent light time delay—the several minutes it takes for a command to travel to Mars—makes immediate, responsive control unfeasible. Unlike controlling a ground vehicle where immediate feedback allows for continuous, real-time adjustments, operations on Mars must be proactive rather than reactive. Commands cannot be issued based on what the rover is currently doing, as by the time the command arrives, the rover will have already executed the previous instruction. Therefore, mission controllers must upload comprehensive sequences of instructions, often planned for an entire Martian day, which the rover then executes autonomously.
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