Earth Has Received A Message Laser-Beamed From 16 Million Kilometres Away
How far could we push the limits of wireless communication? NASA recently demonstrated tech that could help how beam messages across a distance of 16 million kilometres (10 million miles). This is about 40 times the distance between the Moon and Earth, marking the first occurrence of optical communications across such a distance.
Why is this groundbreaking?
Usually, humans use radio waves to communicate with far-off spacecraft. But higher frequencies of light such as near infrared have more bandwidth and faster data speed.
To be able to send and receive messages from nearby planets like Mars after a settler colony's establishment would be a key priority to ensure the safety of humans and for seamless knowledge transfer. This tech could enable seamless communication between Earth and far-off objects.
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The test is part of NASA's Deep Space Optimal Communications (DSOC) experiment and the successful establishment of the communication link is known as "first light."?
"Achieving first light is one of many critical DSOC milestones in the coming months, paving the way toward higher-data-rate communications capable of sending scientific information, high-definition imagery, and streaming video in support of humanity's next giant leap," said Trudy Kortes, director of Technology Demonstrations at NASA Headquarters.
What potential does it hold?
Similar tech is used to make ground-based high-speed communications possible through optical fibres. In this case, the tech has been adapted for use through deep space to improve existing methods of getting information back to Earth, Science Alert explained.
Engineers transmitted infrared light in the laser form. While this didn't make movement of light faster, it helped narrow down the beam to a small channel that requires less power than a scatter of radio waves and is more difficult to intercept.
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This doesn't make it a simple task. To encode data bits into photos emitted by the laser, a number of sophisticated instruments are used, including a superconducting high-efficiency detector array. They make transmission possible and also help with translation at the other end of transmission.
Another key problem with the system is adapting its position configuration in real time. In this particular test, the laser photons took about 50 seconds to get from the spacecraft to telescope, while they both move in space.
How was the connection made possible?
The connection was made possible by a laser transceiver on board the Psyche spacecraft, which is on a two-year tech demo mission and is currently on its way to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. It was able to make contact with the Hale Telescope at the Palomar Observatory in California.
Psyche will perform a fly-by around Mars and tests will continue to make improvements to this near-infrared laser communication method.
"It was a formidable challenge, and we have a lot more work to do, but for a short time, we were able to transmit, receive, and decode some data," said Meera Srinivasan, DSOC operations lead at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
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