Interstellar Network — Proxy

The current terrestrial Internet architecture, built on TCP/IP, assumes a world where light travels around a planetary sphere in milliseconds. It assumes persistent connections, low packet loss, and continuous handshaking. Try to extend that architecture to Mars, and the system collapses instantly. The 5 to 20-minute light-time delay (one-way) makes real-time handshakes impossible. The "three-way handshake" of TCP alone would take between 30 minutes and an hour to establish a single connection.

The round-trip light time to Proxima is 8.4 years. A standard command-response cycle (send command, wait for ACK, retransmit on failure) would take decades. With an INP, the probe uses . It bundles all science data, along with a manifest describing how to process it. The Earth-based INP sends intent bundles —not real-time commands—that tell the probe "over the next 6 months, image the planetary surface at these wavelengths." interstellar network proxy

As we prepare to return to the Moon, build Mars bases, and send probes to the ice moons of Jupiter, the humble proxy is quietly being deployed into orbit. The first words from a human on Mars will likely not be "That's one small step..." but rather a bundle acknowledgment: Custody transfer accepted. Forwarding to Sol.earth.dsn. The 5 to 20-minute light-time delay (one-way) makes