Do. 1  Do spend some time understanding the point of what you are about to write. 2  Do make lists. 3  Do use an appropriate tone. 4  Do write several drafts of each paragraph. 5  Do compare your first draft copy with other material from previous issues of the journal or website.
Mars is so far away in fact that it takes radio signals quite a long time to get from the spacecraft back to Earth. During Curiosity EDL, this delay will be 13 minutes, 48 seconds, about mid-way between the minimum delay of around 4 minutes and the maximum of around 24 minutes.
All communication between Mars and Earth goes through satellites. Because of the distance, there is a substantial delay. As communication signals travel at the speed of light, this means that it can take between 3 and 22 minutes for the information to reach the other end, so a phone call would not be practical. Fortunately, there would be no limitations to email, texting or 'WhatsApping' with the Mars residents. It'll just take at least 6 minutes for you to get your reply. Both voicemail and video messages are also easily workable options. The astronauts can use the Internet, but can only surf 'real time' on a number of websites that are downloaded from Earth on the Mars habitat webserver. Every astronaut will have access to his favorite websites that way.