SPACE — The American Space Agency or NASA has just sent a cat video to Earth from a distance of 31 million kilometers or 80 times the distance between Earth and the Moon. Yes, NASA is indeed developing laser message sending technology, which in the future will be used for interplanetary communication.
With lasers, humans can even send complete images from distant space. Something that is impossible for current communication systems that use radio waves alone. How did it happen? Let’s discuss it.
NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) device has been responsible for maintaining contact with various missions outside Low Earth Orbit (LEO) since 1963. For your information, LEO is space that is still influenced by Earth’s gravity. There is the best place to live for man-made satellites, including Indonesia’s.
In addition to delivering communications and instructions, DSN has sent stunning images and invaluable science data to Earth. As missions become more sophisticated, the amount of data that can be collected and transmitted increases rapidly.
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To meet this growing need, NASA has shifted to higher bandwidth radio spectrum transmission. However, there is no way to increase data rates without increasing the size of the antenna or the power of the radio transmitter.
To meet this need, NASA has created Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC), which relies on focused light (lasers) to stream ultra-high bandwidth video and other data from space. Compared with conventional radios, optical arrays are typically faster, safer, lighter, and more flexible.
In a recent test, NASA used a technology demonstrator to send video to Earth from a record-breaking distance of 31 million km. This video, featuring a cat named Taters, marks a historical milestone and shows the effectiveness of optical communication.
The 15-second test video was transmitted via a state-of-the-art flight laser transceiver, a near-infrared transmitter installed with the DSOC on NASA’s Psyche mission. They were launched on October 13, 2023, then. Oh yes, Psyche’s mission is to send a detective probe to the Psyche Asteroid, a very valuable metal rock.
The cat video was sent at the system’s maximum bit rate, 267 megabits per second (Mbps) and took 101 seconds to reach Earth. The instrument beams an encoded near-infrared laser to the Hale Telescope at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory (Earth), where it is ultimately downloaded.
The looping video frames are then sent to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), where the video is played in real-time. Yes, the adorable Taters video was received safely.
Also Read: Is Humanity Ready to Face Intelligent Aliens?
About Video Taters
Prior to Psyche’s launch, the team uploaded a short, ultra-high definition video featuring an orange cat named Taters belonging to a JPL employee. Taters are shown chasing a laser pointer while their heart rate, color, and race are included on the screen.
2023-12-23 13:05:00
#Videos #Cats #Planet #Earth #Video #Space #Space
