Here’s How Far NASA Can Send a Laser Message Using Their Newest Tech
The problem with radio communication is that as the receiver gets further and further away, not only does it take longer to receive messages, but the message also gets much weaker. Which is why NASA is working on sending those very same communications using lasers and they recently had their most successful test yet.
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00:00Right now, radio communications are, well, exactly that.
00:07Transmissions sent via radio signals.
00:09The problem with those is that as the receiver gets further and further away, not only does
00:13it take longer to receive messages, but the message also gets much weaker.
00:17Which is why NASA is working on sending those very same communications using lasers.
00:22And they recently had their most successful test yet.
00:25The test is all in preparation of an eventual Mars mission, which current radio communications
00:30take between 4 minutes and 24 minutes for a one-way message.
00:33And those video, image, and other types of messages are quite low resolution.
00:37But late last year, NASA tested their optical transmission system, and they were able to
00:42send a message some 10 million miles.
00:45That's 40 times the distance of the Earth to the Moon, and around a third of the distance
00:48of us to Mars.
00:50The transmission came from a telescope on our planet, and was received by the Psyche
00:54spacecraft.
00:55It's currently heading to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
00:58They're calling this transmission First Light, and they say this is a milestone in higher
01:02data rate communications.
01:04The whole thing took just 50 seconds one way.
01:06Which Trudy Cortes says will eventually allow the streaming of scientific information, high
01:11definition imagery, and video across great distances.