NASA Psyche probe: 226 million kilometer laser communications

Breaking the previous record, NASA’s Psyche Probe managed to transmit data to Earth via laser from an incredible distance of 226 million kilometers.

There Psyche probe NASA has reached an important new milestone: communication via laser from a distance of 226 million kilometers. This is a record for this type of technology and represents an important step forward in the development of faster and more efficient communication systems for future space missions.

Traveling tometallic asteroid 16 which will reach in 2029, is equipped with an experimental optical communication system called Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC). This system uses near-infrared lasers to transmit data to Earth. The bandwidth is significantly higher than traditional radio communications.

On April 8, 2024, the spacecraft successfully transmitted approx 10 minutes of data duplicates using the DSOC system. An exceptional result, considering that the distance traveled by the data was seven times greater than the previous record. The transmission speed achieved was 25Mbpswith a minimum target of 1 Mbps.

Psyche probe: advantages and critical issues of optical communication

There optical communication offers numerous advantages over radio waves, including one greater bandwidth, lower latency and lower sensitivity to interference. However, this technology also presents some critical issues, such as the need for clear skies due to data transmission and the difficulty of accurately aiming lasers at distant targets.

The success of the test demonstrates the potential of optical communication for future space missions, particularly those that will go beyond Earth orbit. This technology could allow the transmission of scientific data high resolutionreal-time images and videos from Earth.

NASA will continue to test and develop the DSOC system on the Psyche probe and on other space probes in the coming years. The goal is to perfect this technology and make it reliable for long-duration space missions.