Mars Global Surveyor Ka-Band Link Experiment Results

This paper presents The Mars Global Surveyor Ka-Band Link Experimental Results in viewgraph form. Topics include: 1) Deep Space Ka-band Link Advantage; 2) Deep Space Ka-band Telecommunications; 3) Mars Global Surveyor (MGS) Signal Levels and Ka-band Top for Clear Weather Pass; 4) MGS Signal Levels and Ka-band Top for Rainy Weather Pass; 5) MGS Ka-band to X-band Link Advantage; and 6) Conclusion. A 6 to 8 dB link advantage can be realized by using Ka band (32 GHz) as a telecommunications link frequency in place of X-band (8.4 GHz). This link advantage was demonstrated using two years worth of Mars Global Surveyor simultaneous Ka/X data after correcting for known equipment deficiencies.