NASA Testing Lasers to Replace Radio Communications in Space
NASA has had a space probe called the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer circling the moon getting ready to receive the first laser data transmission in space. The LADEE probe successfully received a ‘world wide web’ type of transmission between Earth and the moon probe more than 239,000 miles away. There is a reason NASA is testing this.
Space information has always been transmitted by radio waves or RF and it is reaching its limit because of the demand for more data is increasing. They have now tested the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) as the first two way system using lasers. NASA downloaded data from Earth to the moon probe at 622 Mbps. To give you an idea as to how fast that is: the average internet connection speed is 8.7 Mbps.
NASA has high hopes for their new form of communication believing one day they will be able to transmit 3D videos from deep space and receive information much quicker.
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