Posted on 09/27/2025 1:12:45 AM PDT by blueplum
NASA has just pulled off a deep space first that could forever change the way we communicate beyond Earth. A silent beam of light traveled an unimaginable distance—and then something remarkable happened.
In a major step toward high-speed space internet, NASA has successfully exchanged laser-encoded messages with a spacecraft over 350 million kilometers from Earth. The story, reported by IFLScience, marks the success of one of the most ambitious space communication tests ever attempted—and may open the door to a future where humans on Mars send back livestreams in real time....
To carry out this experiment, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) used its Table Mountain Facility in California to send a focused 3-kilowatt laser beacon toward Psyche. Once the spacecraft locked onto the beam, it fired back its own optical signal carrying encoded information....
Capturing the faint returning signal required the capabilities of Caltech’s Palomar Observatory in San Diego County. The observatory’s large dome and sensitive detectors picked up the returning photons, decoding them into meaningful data...
(Excerpt) Read more at dailygalaxy.com ...
I cannot believe how a “journalist” could write about a live stream from Mars without knowledge of the time delay. Seems like they would have a technical proofreader. Just, ignorant!
The police pull you over and ask you to put your bra back on.
Journalists are so stupid. A laser beam still is limited to c.
They’re trying to reach us about our car’s extended warranty ...
Drink more Ovaltine.
You can't get to the speed of light. Your mass increases as you move faster and faster. Your kinetic energy increases and is added to your mass. This eventually requires an infinite amount of energy to push you to the speed of light.
“Nudge me when NASA manages laser propulsion like the Moties used in Niven and Pournelle’s The Mote in God’s Eye. Excellent first contact science fiction by two of the best.”
This is a great story I’ve reread it several times looks like I will again “Crazy Eddie” lol
So yesterday ... electric propulsion is in, as is the inertia-less drive.
What? They're claiming communications at faster than the speed of light? Call me skeptical.
It wasn't instantaneous. It merely worked.
The laser projects a tight beam that doesn't disperse as much as a radio transmission. The beam arrives at the destination with enough energy to be detected. The reply can also be received.
To do this with radio requires the use of mammoth dish antennas. The lasers make communications possible without large infrastructure.
Its also the best computer language. ;-D
Poor writing in the article. I think the “higher speed” really means greater bandwidth/data rate.
As pointed out by a Freeper yesterday, there are two kinds of people: Those who use the metric system, and those who landed on the moon.
Less divergence is one reason. The laser beam spreads out much slower than that of a directional radio signal.
The blogger needs to look up the definition of deep space.
I call this a real breakthrough congratulations.
And by large, we’re talking now-defunct Arecibo radio-telescope large.
So NASA shot a shark with a laser into space to test this out. Sounds like something Dr. Evil would do.
you’ll hit something before you turn them on
Look at a clock, then take off at the speed of light. The time on the clock will remain constant, since the light reflecting off of it is traveling at the same speed you are.
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