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NASA Achieves‌ First Operational Deep Space Optical Communication

The NASA has achieved a technical milestone with long-term ‌implications for ‌space exploration. on November​ 14, 2023, ‍the experiment Deep⁤ Space Optical Communications (DSOC) managed to establish its first operational connection (first light) to exchange “light‌ bits” between the ship Psyche and a station on Earth when the probe was about 10 million miles (almost 16 million kilometers).

The test, coordinated by the Jet ⁤Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), consisted ‍of the ‌laser ‍transceiver embarked on Psyche being hooked to a reference beam sent from ⁣the Table Mountain facility (California) and, from there, fine-tuning the pointing systems to maintain the link with the receiving telescope⁣ in Palomar.

The keys that explain why it matters:

• What has been tested (optical communications in deep space) with a laser near ‍infrared that carries‍ data ⁢in photons.
• Why is it relevant? (more data capacity) because ⁤the goal of the DSOC is to demonstrate rates between 10 and 100 times higher ⁤ than radio communications used⁤ today in deep space missions.
• What makes it challenging (aim with extreme precision) sence the system must correct the relative motion of the⁣ ship and the Earth during the travel ⁣time of light (in this test it was around 50 seconds).

In the words of those responsible ⁢for the agency’s communications program, the jump is essential for scientific missions that “always want more” data, and for future human and robotic operations that depend on sending ‍heavy information (high-resolution images or video).

How the⁣ “laser ⁣channel” that Psyche has tested works

The DSOC‍ scheme combines equipment ‌on the ship and equipment on the ground…