NASA achieved a groundbreaking feat by successfully streaming a high-definition video of a cat from deep space using laser communications for the first time.
The milestone is part of NASA’s ongoing Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment to expand communication bandwidth in space.
DSOC Breaks Records
On December 11, the DSOC experiment set a new record by streaming an ultra-high-definition video from 19 million miles away. The captivating footage featured an orange tabby cat named Taters playfully chasing a faint red dot from a laser pointer as it swiftly moved across a couch.
“This accomplishment underscores our commitment to advancing optical communications as a key element to meeting our future data transmission needs,” stated NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy in a press release. “Increasing our bandwidth is essential to achieving our future exploration and science goals, and we look forward to the continued advancement of this technology and the transformation of how we communicate during future interplanetary missions.”
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NASA’s Laser Communication Triumph
The video was transmitted to Earth from NASA’s Psyche spacecraft and took less than two minutes to reach Caltech’s Palomar Observatory, operating at the system’s maximum rate of 267 megabits per second. The video had been loaded into Psyche’s laser communication craft before being launched in October.
Taters, the star of this cosmic show, belongs to an employee of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
The success of this experiment marks a significant step forward in advancing optical communication technology, paving the way for enhanced data transmission capabilities in future interplanetary missions.
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