Earlier this month, the Psyche spacecraft, located 19 million miles from Earth, sent a unique message. Reporting from Engadgetwhat was sent was a 15-second Ultra High Definition (UHD) video showing an orange cat named Taters playfully chasing a laser dot.
This event marked the first time that UHD streaming video was sent from space to Earth using laser technology. The Psyche spacecraft, launched in October, is on its way to study metal-rich asteroids located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
The mission’s success in transmitting this video is more than just a unique space anecdote. This represents a significant leap in space communications technology.
The video was initially uploaded to the spacecraft before its departure and then sent back to Earth on December 11. The transmission, using a flight laser transceiver on the spacecraft, reached Earth in just 101 seconds.
To put that in perspective, Psyche was about 80 times farther from Earth than the moon was at the time of transmission. The achieved data transfer speed reached an impressive 267 Mbps.
What makes this achievement noteworthy is the efficiency and speed of data transfer. According to Ryan Rogalin, electronic receiver lead for the project at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the video was sent back to Earth faster than most broadband internet connections.
In fact, once the video arrives at the Palomar Observatory, it is relayed to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory via the internet, and this terrestrial connection is actually slower than laser signals from space.
The successful demonstration of laser communications from space opens up new possibilities for future space missions. This technology not only offers a faster way to transmit data over long distances, but also highlights the potential for more efficient communications in space exploration.
As we continue to reach deeper into the cosmos, advances like these pave the way for more robust and reliable communications systems, which are critical to the success of long-term space missions.
2023-12-26 15:40:00
#Advanced #Laser #Technology #NASA #Successfully #Sends #UHD #Video #Earth #Space #Jawa #Pos #JawaPos
