Can we use natural satellites for communication?

Question

I heard that there are transponders present on satellites that act as repeaters & r usd for communication. So if we use man-made satellites for communication, then can we use natural stllites(e.g moon) by putting required systems & instrments on them?

Answer 1

Yes of course it could work. The only known natural satellite for Earth is the moon. Solar panels could supply power and the antenna would point directly towards earth. Earth stations would have to rotate antennas to track the moon as it moved across the sky. This would be one of its problems, in that for part of the day it is on the opposite side of the planet and unavailable for use. Otherwise for non time critical data it could be used quite well. Dollars to get it up there and working are another issue...

Answer 2

It was tried before they had man-made satellites. (1950s) And it doesn't work well.
1) The moon is too far a way and doesn't reflect back very well.
2) You need a satellite to remain stationary all the time, the moon doesn't do this.
3) There would be a time lag of over 4 seconds for the round trip of any signal.

Answer 3

Yes, you can and there are some examples that uses the surface of the moon to bounce the signal off and transmit to another place.

However, it is not the most useful way because you have to time it when the moon is at certain positions. And there is additional time delay for the signal to come back and forth.

Answer 4

Yes, but it will not be efficient because the Moon is a quarter of a million kilometres away. The lag from the speed of light is noticeable, and high powered transmitters would be needed.

Answer 5

Hi. Yes. Amateur radio operators bounce signals off the Moon for communication. You need a really good antenna. Search 'moon bounce amateur'.