NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, announced that it had successfully transmitted a video of an employee’s cat playing from space to Earth by conducting a test of Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC), which transmits data from deep space to Earth.
Saiki, a spacecraft participating in the asteroid Pushke exploration mission, was used in the data communication test conducted by NASA this time. On December 11, 2023, Saiki sent 15 seconds of high-resolution video from the DSOC flying laser transceiver, which can transmit and receive near-infrared signals, toward the Hale Telescope at Caltech’s Palomer Observatory.
The transmission speed of the Psyche laser communication device is said to be up to 267Mbps, which is 10 to 100 times faster than the advanced wireless communication system used in existing deep space missions, and the time taken was only 101 seconds. The subject of the historic video is Taters, the cat owned by Joby Harris, who works at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Taters is American slang for potatoes.
The video shows Tatus working hard with a laser pointer. It is said that it took an hour to film a short video of the capricious cat playing. Also, the text at the top of the screen (This is a test) is a point that was insisted on to image old NASA technology. The video also contains technical information such as the Pushke orbit, the Palomer Observatory’s telescope dome, and the bit rate of the transmission laser, as well as elements such as Tater’s breed, heart rate, and hair color.
Test videos featuring cats have a history. Felix the Cat, a popular cartoon character, was also used in America’s first TV test broadcast in 1928. Even these days, cat photos and videos are one of the most popular content online.
JPL said that even though it was transmitted from a far away place, most of the images were able to be transmitted faster than broadband Internet. In fact, after receiving the video from Palomar Observatory, it was sent to JPL through the Internet, but the Internet line was slower than the signal from deep space. revealed.
Saiki, which transmitted data this time, is the asteroid Pushke Exploration, the 14th mission of NASA’s Discovery Plan. Saiki, launched on October 13, 2023, will reach Pushke orbit six years later in 2029. It will engage in data transmission tests for at least two years until it reaches the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, where Pushke is located, and the information obtained will be used in future Mars exploration missions. Related information: this placeYou can check it here.
