Building an Invisible 140,000,000-Mile Bridge

L3Harris' legacy in space communication is built on decades of innovation and expertise. From early spacecraft missions like NASA’s Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, to the Space Shuttle Program and International Space Station, our company's technology has been at the forefront of space exploration. Our legacy continues today with the Electra and Electra-Lite transceivers, which are creating new frontiers and expanding humankind’s knowledge about distant planets.

When it comes to interplanetary space exploration, electronic communications are what bridges distant spacecraft to mission control on Earth. Among the most valuable players in this deep space connection are the Electra and Electra-Lite transceivers built by L3Harris. These transceivers have played pivotal roles in the ongoing Mars missions for decades, enabling groundbreaking discoveries to help us better understand the mysteries of the Red Planet.

The Backbone of Mars Communication
NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover communicates with Earth 140 million miles away using a combination of Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) radio signals and a high-gain antenna. The ground vehicle transmits to the larger and more powerful Mars orbiters, which then act as relays to send data and receive commands back from Earth. Without this relay, data would travel 500 times slower from Perseverance directly to mission control.

Electra and Electra-Lite have been instrumental in many historic achievements on Mars such as NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter, which became the first aircraft to achieve powered flight on another planet in 2021. The success of its 72 flights was assisted by the reliable communication link provided by Electra-Lite, which transmitted flight data and images back to Earth, allowing engineers to analyze and refine flight operations. In fact, L3Harris radios have been used on every U.S. Martian rover and Mars orbiting spacecraft since 2001. Their robust design ensures that data, images and telemetry can be quickly transmitted across the vast expanse of space, allowing scientists and engineers to monitor and control missions.

Electra: The versatile workhorse
The Electra transceiver is a versatile and powerful communication system and is a staple in Mars missions, facilitating communication between surface rovers and orbiters. This is crucial for missions where direct communication with Earth is not always possible due to distance, the planet's rotation or other obstacles.

Its ability to provide high-bandwidth communication ensures that large volumes of scientific data, including high-resolution images and videos, can be transmitted efficiently. This capability was particularly vital during NASA’s Curiosity rover's mission, where Electra enabled the transmission of detailed images of the Martian surface.

Electra-Lite: Compact and efficient
Building on the success of the Electra transceiver, L3Harris developed the Electra-Lite, a compact and efficient version designed for missions with stringent size, weight and power constraints to fit aboard smaller platforms like Perseverance. 

Electra-Lite's design makes it ideal for smaller spacecraft and secondary payloads, expanding the possibilities for Mars exploration. Its efficient power consumption and lightweight construction allow it to be integrated into a variety of mission architectures, from orbiters to landers and rovers. This flexibility was demonstrated in the Mars 2020 mission, where Electra-Lite played a key role in supporting the Perseverance rover's communication needs.
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