High definition movies from Mars coming soon. The new ground station will bring closer laser communication with space probes

Despite decades of technological development, NASA is still very limited in the rate of data transfer from distant space probes to Earth and back. It is for this reason that so far images from Mars are still low resolution, grainy and sometimes black and white.

However, with new instruments scheduled to start working next year, NASA wants to start the era of transmitting information from space using infrared lasers, which will significantly increase speed throughput.

When the construction of Optical Ground Station 2 (OGS-2) in Haleakala, Hawaii is completed, NASA wants to improve the technology for receiving and sending information to probes in space.

Optical telescope dome at the OGS-2 station

Along with the previously built OGS-1 station, the new station will send information to the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) probe. The spacecraft, scheduled to launch next year, will be the first space instrument to communicate with Earth using only lasers.

Lasers – pros and cons

Of course, it’s not that laser technology is better than radio broadcast technology in every way. For example, infrared lasers are unable to penetrate clouds, so NASA will only be able to communicate with the probes in clear weather. It was precisely because of the cloudless weather conditions that the telescope was set up in Hawaii.

In the event of rainfall, station operators will be able to use the previously built OGS-1 station, which is located in California.

Nevertheless, NASA officials believe the game is worth the candle. According to a press release published by the agency, lasers will be able to improve data transmission speeds by 10 to 100 times compared to currently used radio transmission systems.

Perhaps, therefore, thanks to innovative technology, in some time, completely new quality materials will begin to arrive on Earth. We would love to see high-resolution images of the objects surveyed by the probes, and looking at where the space probes will be heading in the coming years (Venus probes , Titan drones , or an orbiter that will orbit Ganymede), there really is a lot to get excited about. Because who wouldn’t want to see a high definition movie shot on the surface of Mars or Titan?

High definition movies from Mars coming soon. The new ground station will bring closer laser communication with space probes

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