For the first clock time , NASA has used laser communication to send 4 K video from a woodworking plane to the International Space Station ( ISS ) and back again .
So far , NASA has relied on radio communication to send and get messages to missions in place . While effective – we can commune with Voyager 1 , which is over 15 billion miles ( 24 billion klick ) away – by using infrared laser visible radiation it is possible to carry 10 to 100 fourth dimension more data , and faster too .
NASA is now exploringlasercommunication as it coiffure its sights on the Moon and Mars as part of its Artemis programme . The hope is that the engineering science could be used to dwell - stream footage of astronauts as humanness conduct its next steps on the lunar surface currently plan for2026 .
The communication path during the test.Video credit: NASA/Morgan Johnson
In the trial , NASA ’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland attach a portable optical maser terminal to the underside of a Pilatus PC-12 aircraft . Data from the aircraft was sent to an optic ground post in Cleveland , and sent via Earth - based communication channel White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces , New Mexico . From there , it was transmit to NASA ’s orbiting Laser Communications Relay Demonstration ( LCRD ) platform , which relayed the signal to the ILLUMA - T ( Integrated LCRD LEO User Modem and Amplifier Terminal ) mounted on the ISS .
Between experiments , NASA find issues and made improvements .
“ These experiments are a tremendous accomplishment , ” Dr Daniel Raible , main investigator for the HDTN project at Glenn , said in astatement . “ We can now work up upon the succeeder of streaming 4 K HD video to and from the space place to provide succeeding capability , like HD videoconferencing , for our Artemis astronaut , which will be important for crew wellness and activity coordination . ”
As well as streaming video , the undertaking aim to make communicating with missions in space much more efficient beyond Earth ambit . Though the ILLUMA - T is no longer attached to the ISS , the team will continue to conduct tests using the Pilatus PC-12 aircraft throughout the rest of July .
