The laser data transmission system on board Psyche, flying to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, has achieved a record-breaking transmission of data to Earth. This technology, known as Deep Space Optical Communications, is located aboard NASA’s Psyche spacecraft and has demonstrated its capability to transmit data over vast distances. While Psyche primarily relies on radio frequency communication, the new optical communications technology showcased its ability to accomplish this task. The system was able to send technical data over a distance of 225 million km, which is 1.5 times the distance between Earth and the Sun.
This achievement opens up possibilities for spacecraft to use optical communications in the future, enabling the transmission of intricate scientific information, high-resolution images, and videos at faster speeds to support future missions, such as sending humans to Mars. The laser communications technology on this prototype spacecraft is designed to transmit data from deep space at speeds significantly faster than modern radio frequency systems currently used in missions. Despite launching on October 13, 2023, the spacecraft is still operating efficiently on its journey to the asteroid Psyche in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
NASA’s optical communications experiment conducted on April 8 demonstrated that the system could transmit test data at a maximum speed of 25 Mbps from a near-infrared common-port laser in the transceiver during flight. Previously, the experiment was able to transmit a 15-second ultra-high-resolution video from a distance of 31 million km back to Earth. The project team successfully sent commands to transmit data generated by Psyche using optical technology to the Hale telescope at the Institute’s Palomar Observatory in California. Additionally, the system was able to download test data to study the characteristics of optical communication links. This marks significant progress in advancing communication technologies for future space missions.