Jakarta –
NASA has a Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experimental project which can send messages via infrared light over a distance of 16 million kilometers. This distance is even 40 times farther than the distance from Earth to the Moon.
This finding is the result of experimental tests from DSOC which carried out the first optical communication over such a long distance. These findings reveal the possibility that we can send messages in video format even with the highest quality or definition from Earth to Mars without any delay.
“The reception of first light is one of many important DSOC milestones in the coming months. (It) paves the way to higher data rate communications capable of transmitting scientific information, high-definition imagery and video streaming to support humanity’s next great leap ,” said Trudy Kortes, director of NASA Technology Demonstrations, quoted from Science Alert.
Higher Speed, Lower Power
Reported from the page Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), the first technology demonstration was carried out on November 14 2023. This trial succeeded in sending and receiving high bandwidth test data in the form of infrared signals.
The laser transmitter that makes the connection is on the Psyche spacecraft, which is on a two-year technology demonstration mission to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Signals from the Psyche probe then made contact with the Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory, California.
Previously, humans have relied on similar technology embedded in optical fibers for high-speed communications on land.
This was also exploited by adapting the near-infrared signal to a powerful uplink laser beacon transmitted from the Communications Telescope Laboratory Optics.
The uplink beacon helped the transmitter point the downlink laser back to Palomar, while an automated system on the station’s transmitter on Earth perfected the pointing.
“Tuesday morning’s test was the first test to fully combine ground assets and flight transceivers, so the DSOC and Psyche operations teams had to work together,” said Meera Srinivasan, DSOC operations lead.
The use of infrared light has made it easier for engineers to send data in laser-shaped waves. By limiting the light beam to a narrow channel, the power required is much less than for radio waves.
Challenges of Data Configuration in Space
Researchers say that there is a challenge that is not simple. Moreover, data is in the form of bits, or the smallest data unit that a computer can process.
Because the data bits will be encoded in photons emitted by the laser, requiring a number of heavy instruments. Such as a series of superconducting detectors with high efficiency which are specifically used to detect photons.
This signal processing technique is used to extract data from single photons arriving and then decoded at the other end.
Another challenge is creating a system that is able to adjust the configuration of the position of data traveling from the spacecraft to Earth over very long distances in real time.
In the latest test, laser photons took about 50 seconds to hurtle through space, moving from the spacecraft to the telescope.
The Psyche spacecraft is scheduled to fly around Mars, so testing will continue to perfect this near-infrared laser communications innovation.
“This was a tough challenge, and we still have a lot of work to do, but in a short time, we were able to send, receive and decode some data,” said Srinivasan.
In the future, researchers will ensure that methods for sending data quickly into space can be relied upon as needed.
Watch the video “Scientists in England Start Examining Samples of the Asteroid Bennu”
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2023-12-03 11:00:00
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