Earth has recently received a mysterious signal from deep space, originating approximately 140 million miles away. This signal came from NASA’s new spacecraft, “Psyche,” marking a significant milestone in space exploration. Psyche, launched by NASA in October 2023, is on a mission to explore an asteroid named ‘Psyche 16,’ believed to be predominantly made of metal—a rarity in our solar system. The asteroid is situated in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Named after the asteroid it is destined for, Psyche carries the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) system, designed to enable laser communication across vast distances in space. While Psyche primarily uses radio frequency communication, the optical communications technology has proven its capability. In a remarkable feat, the laser communications demo successfully transmitted engineering data from over 140 million miles away, demonstrating its potential for faster and more efficient communication in space.
Meera Srinivasan, the project’s operations lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California, explained that during a pass on April 8, about 10 minutes of duplicated spacecraft data was downlinked. This duplicated data was transmitted via laser communications, while the original data was sent to ground control using standard radio-frequency channels on NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN). The objective was to assess if laser communications could perform as effectively, if not better, than traditional methods.
NASA’s optical communications demonstration has proven its ability to transmit test data at a maximum rate of 267 Mbps, similar to broadband internet speeds. During the April 8 test, the spacecraft successfully transmitted data at a maximum rate of 25 Mbps, exceeding the project’s goal of proving at least 1 Mbps was achievable at that distance. Despite being farther away from Earth, Psyche remains stable and healthy as it continues its journey towards the Psyche 16 asteroid.
This achievement represents a significant advancement in space communication technology, offering the potential for faster and more reliable data transmission over vast distances. As Psyche continues its mission to explore the metal-rich asteroid, the success of the DSOC system demonstrates NASA’s commitment to innovation in space exploration.