NASA received a laser signal 466 million kilometers from Earth: a new era of interplanetary communication

NASA’s Psyche probe continues its journey toward the $10 trillion asteroid, a six-year journey that the space agency is using to test its new laser communication system.

Distance record. This time, the Deep Space Optical Communications Technology Demonstrator (DSOC) managed to exchange messages with Psyche at a distance of 466 million kilometers, equivalent to the maximum separation between Earth and Mars.

The system is not designed to transmit scientific data from the spacecraft, but to test the reliability of laser communications over interplanetary distances. An experiment that will be especially helpful in future manned missions to the Moon, as well as for the first trips to Mars.

How it works. Psyche is NASA’s first space probe that, in addition to a conventional radio antenna, carries a laser transceiver capable of communicating with two ground stations at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).

The DSOC can transmit data up to 100 times faster than a radio frequency antenna thanks to a near-infrared laser. It’s not that the laser travels faster (light always moves at 300,000 kilometers per second), but it has a higher frequency than radio waves, allowing more data to be packed into each transmission.

Broadband in deep space. NASA has downloaded about 11 terabits of data through the DSOC since the launch of Psyche in October 2023. The first test consisted of broadcasting a video of a cat in 4K from 30 million kilometers away.

The DSOC reached its maximum transmission rate when the spacecraft was 53 million kilometers away: 267 Mbps, a speed similar to a fiber optic connection. In the previous test, at 390 million kilometers, the bit rate was 6.25 Mbps, significantly higher than a radio signal at that distance.

The case of SpaceX. SpaceX has also been experimenting with laser communications. During the Polaris Dawn mission, its Dragon spacecraft debuted laser communication with Starlink satellites.

This new broadband connection allowed them to transmit live high-definition video during the flyby of Earth at 1,400 km altitude and the first private spacewalk in history. Also SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis played the violin from space to accompany an orchestra on Earth.

A break for Psyche. Returning to deep space, the Psyche probe’s transceiver is now turned off, but will be reactivated on November 4 to test its functionality after a year in space. The system is expected to return to full capacity after solar conjunction at the end of the year.

Psyche will pass by Mars in May 2026 and reach the asteroid Psyche in July 2029 after traveling 3.6 billion kilometers. With dimensions of 230 x 280 kilometers, it is not only one of the largest known asteroids, but also the largest metallic asteroid of which we have evidence, and a candidate to be the bare protoplanetary core of an old planet in the solar system.

Image | NASA/JPL

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