If I recall correctly, the Tianwen-1 amateur signal reception was (1) shortly after launch, and (2) using a 20 meter dish. Receiving the downlink from a deep sp

If I recall correctly, the Tianwen-1 amateur signal reception was (1) shortly after launch, and (2) using a 20 meter dish. Receiving the downlink from a deep space object requires much more sophisticated technology than most amateurs have access to, both to track the object, and to listen hard enough. That being said, I doubt that the transmissions are encrypted. Hell, I bet some amateurs with a very powerful transmitter might be able to transmit a software update and take control of the rover. https://xkcd.com/1337/ https://xkcd.com/1337/