eli5: NASA mostly uses UHF antennas for interspace communication, why?
In: Physics
Ultra high frequency radio waves travel mostly in a straight line and are blocked by solid objects, but do not interact with the ionosphere (the electrically charged layer of the atmosphere energized by the sun). Lower frequency radio waves can bounce off the ionosphere, which is a bad thing when trying to communicate with space.
Plus, the higher the frequency, the more data you can shove into the signal. That’s why wi-fi is also UHF signals rather than operating in the AM/FM bands.
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