NASA used lasers to send a message from space to Earth (Daily Star)
Wednesday 22 November 2023 / 21:29
NASA recently announced that a message sent by a laser beam reached Earth from a distance of 16 million km.
NASA sent the message with a laser from a distance of 16 million km to Earth, as scientists try to find the best ways to communicate with technology in space. It is believed that this technological success could allow humans to explore more areas of deep space.
The experiment was conducted by the Deep Swiss optical communications instrument, which was traveling on NASA’s Psychic spacecraft, and sent the message from farther than the moon. The message is believed to be the farthest visual communication sent in history.
However, the content of the message is unknown, but a NASA spokesperson said that the laser transmitter, an advanced instrument aboard the Psychic ship capable of sending and receiving near-infrared signals, is mounted on a powerful laser beacon. The receiver is at the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory on Table Mountain at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Wrightwood, California.
Trudy Curtis, director of technology demonstrations at NASA Headquarters, said: “This technology paves the way toward higher data-rate communications capable of sending scientific information, high-definition images and streaming video, to support humanity’s next giant leap, which is sending humans to Mars.”
In the past, NASA has used radio waves to communicate with space, but lasers are more capable of carrying more data and transmitting them at a faster rate.
Dr. Jason Mitchell, director of the Advanced Communications and Navigation Technologies Division in NASA’s Communications and Astronautics Program, explained that the success of the experiment is a boon for science and could help humans explore deep space, according to what was reported by the newspaper. Daily Star British.
