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Let's say I have a SDR (software defined radio) like the HackRF One at home, access to a huge amplifier circuit and a giant antenna (at my university).
Is there a law that prohibits receiving / streaming video or measurement data from NASAs research satellites or rovers?
And what about sending? Would sending commands to initiate streaming video etc to a research satellite or a rover (like perseverance) be a crime? Just asking out of curiosity ^^
Receiving data from NASA spacecraft has happened several times, and seems to be fine. The problem is transmitting to said spacecraft where you can run in to legality issues.
Radio spectrum licensing prohibits sending transmissions on the same frequency and location as where licences are granted to protect licence holders from interference. So sending commands is not permitted, except as mentioned where there are invitations to attempt to hack to help the operator identify vulnerabilities. One can always listen and in fact many satellite operators award "certificates" to amateurs who manage to collect and document transmissions from their satellites when first launch. This can sometimes help the satellite operator verify correct operation of their spacecraft. If you receive and decode a transmission, consider sending it to the spacecraft project office for verification and they may have the time to validate it for you. If you'd like to get into the habit of regularly talking to satellites, consider joining a group like AMSAT which operates several earth orbiting satellites for the express purpose of letting members use the platforms to store and forward messages to other amateurs. Good luck!
