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STScI and NASA

Inter-planetary Net!
News story originally written on August 3, 1998

According to Vint Cerf, inventor of the TCP/IP standard that the Internet runs on, NASA researchers are working on a way to extend the Net to Mars! Mr. Cerf said that, "There is now an effort underway to design and build an interplanetary Internet."

The planned extension of the Net would make live broadcasts from NASA missions to Mars easier, boosting their public visiblility. Researchers are working on ways to overcome the obstacles in the path of the signals. These "pings" take six hours to travel from Mars to Earth!

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