Can you hear me now?
Posted on 01/05/2006 5:06:18 PM PST by KevinDavis
In a cosmic version of laser tag, NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft and an Earth-based observatory successfully exchanged laser pulses with each other while millions of miles apart.
The feat sets a new record for laser transmission in space, a process which may one day be used to communicate across interplanetary distances and provide scientists with a powerful tool to measure the movement of planets and test fundamental principles in physics.
MESSENGER was launched in 2004 on a six-year voyage to Mercury. In late May of 2005, scientists used the spacecraft’s Mercury Laser Altimeter (MLA), an instrument designed to map Mercury’s surface, to exchange laser pulses with NASA’s Goddard Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory in Maryland. MESSENGER was approximately 15 million miles (25 million km) away at the time.
(Excerpt) Read more at space.com ...
Thanks!!!
Just think Wild and Sexy Coed Asgards....
They should never have dropped the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter. I was looking forward to that.
Since it was an altimeter laser the transmitter's capability probably isn't any more than on/off and the receiver to do timing and phase detection.
It'll be really interesting and meaningful once they have a TX/RX set capable of _real_ data transmission on a satellite somewhere.
15 million miles is only about 10º away at Earth's 1AU orbital radius - Lagrange points 4 & 5 are each 60º away from Earth so _there_ are two stable 93 million-mile-distant targets to shoot for! And at 60º from the sun they ought to be pretty easy viewing.
How long goes it take for light to travel between Earth and Mars? If this laser can send communications from earth orbit to the ground, then Earth orbit to Mars orbit can be done.
ping to my friend
Coincidentally, about the light transmission time from Mercury to the Earth at closest approach...
So...the cats out of the bag where I get some of my news, huh?
lol
Nice line, KevinDavis.
That is really funny!!!
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