As of: January 12, 2024, 9:48 a.m
NASA is conducting a second communication test using a laser beam.This time everyone can see the message from space. Laser Measure Level
Palomar – Just recently, the US space agency Nasa received a message from space via a laser beam.This message was sent from an experiment on board the space probe “Psyche”, which was launched in October and is flying to the asteroid “Psyche” of the same name.The experiment that is traveling is called “Deep Space Optical Communications” (DSOC) and has nothing to do with the actual mission of “Psyche”.In fact, DSOC is only taking advantage of the fact that the spacecraft will travel far away from Earth during its mission.
At a distance of around 31 million kilometers from Earth - around 80 times the distance between Earth and the moon - the experiment has now sent data again via laser beam to the Hale telescope in Palomar, California.While the first time only randomly generated data was sent, this time you can even see what NASA transmitted: a cat video.In the 15-second clip, which the space agency also posted online, a cat named Taters can be seen chasing a red laser dot.There are also graphics and music.
But actually it's not about the content of the video, but about the fact that it arrived over a long distance - and quickly.The DSOC experiment is about sending videos and other data from space to Earth with very high bandwidth.According to NASA, the video was sent to Earth at a transmission rate of 267 Mbps; the long-distance transmission took 101 seconds.
DSOC is designed to transmit data from deep space at 10 to 100 times the speed of today's space missions.NASA is planning further tests of the system when the “Psyche” probe is further away from Earth.It is planned that the experiment will send data to Earth from a distance that corresponds to the greatest distance between Earth and Mars.
The background is, among other things, that people will visit Mars in the future.The new technology could then enable better communication between people on Earth and on the red planet.Among other things, this involves quickly sending complex scientific information.“One of the goals is to demonstrate the ability to transmit broadband video over millions of kilometers,” emphasizes DSOC project manager Bill Klipstein in a NASA statement.
Normally, the experiment sends randomly generated test data to Earth via laser.“But to make this important event memorable, we decided to work with JPL designers to create a fun video that captures the essence of the demonstration as part of the Psyche mission,” said Klipstein.Taters is the cat of an employee at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).
Outdoor Thermometer After its success over 16 million kilometers, the new system also worked flawlessly over almost twice the distance.“Despite the millions of miles of distance, the video was able to be transmitted faster than most broadband Internet connections,” says JPL’s Ryan Rogalin.“After we received the video at Palomar, it was sent over the Internet to JPL, and that connection was slower than the signal from space.” The scientist adds: “And everyone loves Taters.” (tab)