What situation would cause a rover to miss a scheduled communication opportunity with an overhead orbiter?

Answer

If the rover is positioned behind a mountain or blocked from the orbiter's view due to being in shadow.

Contact between a rover on the surface and its relay orbiter is strictly governed by brief, scheduled windows dictated by orbital mechanics and line-of-sight geometry. Even when a pass is scheduled, the communication opportunity can be missed if the rover's immediate physical environment obstructs the line of sight to the overhead satellite. Specifically, if the rover happens to be positioned behind geological features, such as a mountain, or is currently situated in shadow during the brief pass, the connection fails. When this happens, the collected data must wait patiently until the next available communication window arrives, forcing science teams to plan operations around these rigid constraints.

What situation would cause a rover to miss a scheduled communication opportunity with an overhead orbiter?

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