Since the advent of the Space Age, we’ve always relied on radio frequency communications to “chat” with both astronauts and spacecraft in orbit and beyond. But now, NASA is leveling up its communications system with one of the coolest, most space-y things ever: lasers.
As part of NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCAN) program, researchers have successfully tested laser communications by beaming photos and videos of employees’ beloved pets into space. And not just cats and dogs — birds, chickens, cows, snakes and pigs, too, among other species. More specifically, the images and videos were sent from Earth to NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) in a geosynchronous orbit 22,000 miles (35,405 kilometers) away, then from LCRD to the Integrated LCRD Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) on the International Space Station (ISS).
While both laser and radio transmissions travel at the speed of light, laser relay systems can carry much more data than radio signals — it’s akin to downloading images via 3G versus 5G. (If you were curious just how fast the photos and videos were transmitted, they “flew through space” at 1.2 gigabits per second. That’s probably faster than your home WiFi.) So, for transmitting data on both crewed and uncrewed missions, lasers are simply much more efficient.
“The pet imagery campaign has been rewarding on multiple fronts for the ILLUMA-T, LCRD and HDTN teams,” Kevin Coggins, deputy associate administrator and SCAN program manager at NASA Headquarters, said in a statement. “Not only have they demonstrated how these technologies can play an essential role in enabling NASA‘s future science and exploration missions, it also provided a fun opportunity for the teams to ‘picture’ their pets assisting with this innovative demonstration.”
Interestingly, these images aren’t the first pet pictures to be beamed into space via laser. That distinction goes to Taters the Cat, an orange tabby. A video of Taters was relayed some 19 million miles (30.6 million km) from Earth to the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) payload on NASA’s Psyche spacecraft via a series of lasers.
