Another step towards the implementation of an extraplanetary internet in the future is the new record in data transmission speed between Earth and the Moon, achieved by NASA.
A laser instrument aboard an American satellite orbiting the moon has sent data to our planet at a speed of 622 megabits per second, a new download record.
At the same time, according to Space.com, the instrument orbiting the Moon successfully uploaded data from the ground station in New Mexico at a speed of 20 megabits per second.
The laser instrument (Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration – LLCD) is installed on the LADEE (Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer) spacecraft, which was launched on September 6th, with the aim of studying the thin lunar atmosphere and the dust particles believed to be suspended in it.
LADEE has an advanced laser technology for its communications with Earth, instead of the usual radio wave transmissions. Using the laser's optical pulses, it sends data to our planet—and receives from it—with greater speed than any other spacecraft.
NASA's aim is to test this fast and reliable communications technology, which was developed at MIT, in order to extend it to its future space missions, especially those that will have traveled far from Earth. The ultimate goal is the transmission of three-dimensional images and high-resolution video from the farthest reaches of our solar system.
«LLCD represents the first step in our design to create the new generation of space communications. The results have encouraged us and we are confident that we are on the right track to implement the new technological capability soon in our missions», said a NASA spokesperson.
Laser communications technology was recently tested by the American Space Agency's LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) satellite, which is orbiting the moon and, among other things, sent an image of the "Mona Lisa" to Earth via laser
