How Artemis II is beaming back video from the moon with a laser system
6 hours ago
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- #laser-systems
- Artemis II mission's Orion module is testing O2O, a laser-based optical communications system developed by NASA and MIT Lincoln Laboratory.
- O2O can send data to Earth at up to 260 Mbps, far exceeding traditional radio links, with a two-way lag of about one second for video.
- The system uses a semiconductor laser and a 10-cm telescope on a gimbal for precise pointing to ground stations, facing challenges like alignment and spacecraft orientation.
- O2O will enable high-bandwidth applications like 4K video, real-time communication for astronauts, and remote operation of lunar infrastructure.
- Past demonstrations, including lunar and CubeSat missions, have set data rate records, with O2O being the latest achievement in NASA's optical communications development.