Working with NASA and JPL, Cerf has helped develop a new set of protocols that can stand up to the unique environment of space, where orbital mechanics and the speed of light make traditional networking extremely difficult. Though this space-based network is still in its early stages and has few nodes, he said that we are now at"the front end of what could be an evolving and expanding interplanetary backbone."

Are otherplanets habitable?Why wouldDARPAconsider working on such a project asspace internet?