NASA receives signal 16 million kilometers away in space

A North American Space Agency (NASA) reported that it received a signal from a spacecraft 16 million kilometers away from planet Earth, through a laser mechanism that could transform communications between spacecrafts, according to the British newspaper The Independent.

This space signal is considered a successful test of the deep space optical communications system (DSOC in English follow) from NASA, marking the first time that data has been transmitted using a laser further away than the Moon – around 40 times the distance from Earth to the lunar surface.

Paradigm change

Until now, almost all communications with ships in deep space were achieved through radio signals, sent and received through vast antennas on Earth.

Although these radio signals have proven to be reliable, their bandwidth is limited, which means it is slow or impossible to send large files such as high-definition photos and videos.

NASA’s work at DSOC is an attempt to use optical communications using lasers, in a technology that could improve data rates by up to 100 times, according to the space agency.

Mission towards Psyche

The first attempt to test technology beyond the Moon left Earth on NASA’s Psyche missionwho left Earth on the 14th of last month, on a mission to study a distant asteroid.

The liftoff of SpaceX’s powerful Falcon Heavy rocket, carrying the NASA probe, went ahead as planned at 10:19 am local time (3:19 pm GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Last week, this equipment was detected by a NASA laser beacon in California. NASA says the “first light” discovery is part of a series of experiments they hope to prove laser technology can work.

The spacecraft carries a laser transceiver that can send and receive near-infrared laser signals.

The NASA probe will travel approximately 3.5 billion kilometers to get there, with an expected arrival date of the summer of 2029.