As humanity inches closer to becoming an interplanetary race, it is essential to maintain communication with Earth. On Friday, NASA and partner agency Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) partnered with SpaceX on an ambitious mission targeting metal-rich planets. asteroidAnd we hope to demonstrate a new laser-based transmission system that promises faster data delivery from deep space.
Experimental laser transmitter deep space optical communication (DSOC) project launched yesterday aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.What the rocket was carrying Psyche’s missionThis includes a six-year trip to the asteroid to perform real-world (or real space) testing of the DSOC transmitter.
“DSOC is NASA’s first experiment to enable optical communications beyond the distance of the moon and into deep space,” said Malcolm Wright, JPL’s DSOC project leader. Decryption In an interview. “The advantage of optical communications is that previously all communication was done over radio or microwave links.”
As Mr. Wright explained, until now, transmitting signals using radio or microwaves required installing a large antenna on the ground and attaching the antenna to a spacecraft, and due to frequency limitations, The data speed that could be sent to was reduced.
“By using lasers and detectors to do optical communication from the back of the telescope, we can basically send more information. Then we can send it using radio at higher frequencies. , we will be able to put more information into the data,” Wright said. , likening it to the change from cable internet speeds to fiber optics.
As Wright explained, the main challenge with optical communications is the need to precisely direct the system. Unlike traditional radio frequency (RF) antennas on spacecraft with wide beamwidths, optical communications payloads are located on spacecraft or ground stations using highly sensitive detectors that count individual particles of light called photons. Aiming at the Earth requires pinpoint accuracy. Unlink legacy image cameras. Deep space optical communications cameras detect a single photon per pixel frame.
Another challenge is weather, Wright said. Signals can pass through the atmosphere unless blocked by dense clouds. Also, atmospheric turbulence can cause signal fading, and data signals must be encoded to counteract fading signals.
Despite these challenges, optical communications have a direct line of sight, unlike radio waves that spread over a wide area, and are aligned with specific wavelengths, making them ideal for transmitting secret and classified communications. There are several advantages, Wright said.
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DSOC is one of many projects produced by Pasadena-based JPL, whose work focuses on a variety of NASA missions related to robotics and exploration. Founded in 1943, JPL traces its history back to his 1930s and the activities of a group of enthusiasts nicknamed the “Suicide Squad” by students, teachers, and peers at the California Institute of Technology (California Institute of Technology). The Suicide Squad included Hungarian aerospace engineer Theodore von Karman and rocket scientist, chemist, and occultist John Whiteside “Jack” Parsons.
JPL was integrated into the newly created NASA in December 1958.
Although Friday’s launch was just a demonstration of DSOC technology, Wright said a similar device will be used in NASA’s next Artemis mission, which plans to return to lunar orbit and land on the moon again in the future. Ta.
“This is a deep space demonstration,” Wright said. “Once we demonstrate capability, this is a technology that can be used in other missions, and there are many that are currently underway.”
