Optical Communications: Explore Lasers in Space

When we return to the Moon, much will seem unchanged since

humans first arrived in 1969. The flags placed by Apollo

astronauts will be untouched by any breeze. The footprints left by man’s “small

step” on its surface will still be visible across the Moon’s dusty landscape.

Our next generation of lunar explorers will require

pioneering innovation alongside proven communications technologies. We’re

developing groundbreaking technologies to help these astronauts fulfill their

missions.

In space communications networks, lasers will supplement

traditional radio communications, providing an advancement these explorers

require. The technology, called optical communications, has been in development

by our engineers over decades.

Optical

communications, in infrared, has a higher frequency than radio,

allowing more data to be encoded into each transmission. Optical communications

systems also have reduced size, weight and power requirements. A smaller system

leaves more room for science instruments; a weight reduction can mean a less

expensive launch, and reduced power allows batteries to last longer.

On the path through this “Decade of Light,” where laser

joins radio to enable mission success, we must test and demonstrate a number of

optical communications innovations.

The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration

(LCRD) mission will send data between ground stations in Hawaii and California

through a spacecraft in an orbit stationary relative to Earth’s rotation. The

demo will be an important first step in developing next-generation Earth-relay

satellites that can support instruments generating too much data for today’s

networks to handle.

The Integrated LCRD Low-Earth Orbit User Modem

and Amplifier-Terminal will provide the International

Space Station with a fully operational optical communications

system. It will communicate data from the space station to the ground through

LCRD. The mission applies technologies from previous optical communications

missions for practical use in human spaceflight.

In deep space, we’re working to prove laser technologies

with our Deep Space

Optical Communications mission. A laser’s wavelength is smaller than

radio, leaving less margin for error in pointing back at Earth from very, very

far away. Additionally, as the time it takes for data to reach Earth increases,

satellites need to point ahead to make sure the beam reaches the right spot at

the right time. The Deep Space Optical Communications mission will ensure that

our communications engineers can meet those challenges head-on.

An integral part of our journey back to the Moon will be our

Orion

spacecraft. It looks remarkably similar to the Apollo capsule, yet it

hosts cutting-edge technologies. NASA’s Laser Enhanced Mission Communications

Navigation and Operational Services (LEMNOS) will provide Orion with data rates

as much as 100 times higher than current systems.

LEMNOS’s optical terminal, the Orion EM-2 Optical

Communications System, will enable live, 4K ultra-high-definition video from

the Moon. By comparison, early Apollo cameras filmed only 10 frames per second

in grainy black-and-white. Optical communications will provide a “giant leap”

in communications technology, joining radio for NASA’s return to the Moon and the

journey beyond.

NASA’s Space

Communications and Navigation program office provides strategic oversight to optical

communications research. At NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt,

Maryland, the Exploration and Space Communications projects division is guiding

a number of optical communications technologies from infancy to fruition. If

you’re ever near Goddard, stop by our visitor center to check out our new

optical communications exhibit. For more information, visit nasa.gov/SCaN

and esc.gsfc.nasa.gov.