The U.S. space outfit NASA has tested a deep space communications network based on the Internet.

Adrian Hooke, NASA's Manager of Space-networking Architecture, Technology and Standards, said in a statement that it was the first step in creating a new interplanetary Internet. Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineers used software called Disruption-Tolerant Networking, or DTN, to transmit dozens of space images to and from a NASA spacecraft some 32.4 million kilometers from Earth.

The protocol was designed in partnership with Vint Cerf, a Vice President at Internet search giant Google.  It needs to be able to withstand delays, disruptions and disconnections in space. DTN sends information using a method that differs from the normal Internet's Transmission-Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, or TCP/IP, communication suite, which Cerf co-designed.

Unlike TCP/IP, DTN does not assume a continuous end-to-end connection, NASA said, noting that glitches can happen when a spacecraft moves behind a planet, or when solar storms and long communication delays occur. Packet delays can be between three and 20 minutes if you are trying to download a file between Mars.

Still, that is wireless for you.