NASA is one step closer to making FaceTimes with Mars a reality

NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is currently hurtling through space on a mission to reach an asteroid that scientists believe holds several quintillion dollars worth of iron and nickel.

But the craft is also involved in another mission with mind-blowing proportions. Earlier this month, Psyche used laser-based communication technology to beam a message across a record-high 140 million miles, or 1.5x the distance between the Sun and Earth, according to a new press release.

• Psyche’s side quest was carried out as part of NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications program, which is aimed at upgrading the space agency’s current method of communicating across vast distances in space.

Background: Since the 1950s, NASA has used radio frequency systems to communicate with objects in space – but this system has limitations. Radio frequencies struggle to handle the amount of data needed to transmit a large volume of high-quality images and video over great distances.

So, since the agency is gearing up to set foot on the Moon and Mars in the next decade-plus, it needs an upgraded method of communication to support astronauts on these journeys.

The solution? *Dr. Evil voice* Frickin’ laser beams. Psyche’s recent test used a laser communication system designed to operate 10x-100x faster than current radio systems. Using this technology, the craft was able to transmit data at a maximum rate of 25 megabits/second – far above the project’s goal of proving at least 1 Mbps was possible across 140 million miles.

• NASA has already proven its laser system can transmit data across shorter distances at speeds comparable to broadband internet (up to 267 Mbps), in a December experiment that beamed a high-definition video 19 million miles across space.

👀 Looking ahead… At the end of June, NASA engineers expect to successfully transmit data 186 million miles. Mars is ~229 million miles away from Earth.