>>with any communication device whether is be a gargantuan satellite or an abysmal fm transmitter, the more distance you are dealing with, the weaker the signal and communication gets.<br /><br />That's absolutely true. However, consider that we are still communicating with and receiving data from Voyager 1, which is over 9.5 <i>billion</i> miles away from the Sun, and is beginning to exit the solar system.<br /><br />To grasp this, remember that when you are receiving transmissions from an FM radio station, that station is broadcasting in all directions at once, which costs power and range. The Deep Space Network and similar systems are highly directional, meaning that they point their transmitters/receivers at a particular point in the sky. This lets them put a significant amount of power into one direction, as opposed to the FM station which broadcasts in every direction. Many of the space probes use this same kind of system to send information back to Earth.<br /><br />As for other objects in space interfering with the radio signal, you have to remember that asteroids and comets and such are very widely spaced, so its more a matter of the radio signal trying to hit it, rather than it accidentally interfering.<br /><br />I'm certainly no expert, but I hope that made some sense (and I'm sure the others will correct me if I've messed any of this up). <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>