The Challenge Began Simply Enough
One morning in November 2014, Kamal Oudrhiri, a colleague of mine at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), in Pasadena, Calif., burst into my office with an intriguing proposition. A first-of-its-kind satellite was headed for Mars. The satellite would fly alongside NASA's InSight Mars Lander, relaying data in real time back to Earth during the lander's critical entry, descent, and landing. “We have to achieve 8 kilobits per second, and we're limited in terms of power. Our only hope is a large antenna,” Oudrhiri explained. “Oh, and the satellite itself will be only about the size of a briefcase.”