NASA/MIT collaborate on Earth-Mars laser-based communication

Aug. 9, 2004
Greenbelt, MD--A NASA MIT Lincoln Laboratory team is working to forge the first laser communication link between Mars and Earth. This unique experiment, part of NASA's Vision for Space Exploration, is expected to greatly benefit the transmission of data from robotic spacecraft.

Greenbelt, MD--A NASA MIT Lincoln Laboratory team is working to forge the first laser communication link between Mars and Earth. This unique experiment, part of NASA's Vision for Space Exploration, is expected to greatly benefit the transmission of data from robotic spacecraft.

In 2010, the Mars Laser Communication Demonstration (MLCD) will test the first deep-space laser communication link, which promises to transmit data at a rate nearly ten times higher than any existing interplanetary radio communication link. MLCD will fly on the Mars Telecommunications Orbiter spacecraft, which is planned for launch in 2009. The experiment is a partnership among NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and MIT s Lincoln Laboratory (MIT/LL).

"If we are planning to put people on Mars, we'll need highly reliable communication links with high data rates, and our team wants to show how this can be done with lasers," said Rick Fitzgerald, Project Manager at NASA Goddard.

The NASA-funded project is managed by Goddard, which also provides systems engineering management and mission assurance functions. JPL provides the principal investigator and the ground network development, with MIT/LL responsible for the flight laser communication terminal development and systems engineering. Goddard and MIT/LL each will have a co-investigator on the team.

The expected data rate varies depending on Mars's position in its orbit, the weather and atmospheric conditions on Earth, and whether reception is occurring in daytime or nighttime. When Mars is at its farthest point from Earth and the reception is occurring during daytime, the team expects to receive data at a rate of a million bits per second, but when Mars is at its closest approach and reception is at night, the rate could be thirty times higher. Today, the maximum data rate transmitted to Earth by spacecraft at Mars is about 128,000 bits per second (for NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft).

Lasers have not been used for deep-space communications until now because they first had to be made reliable and efficient enough for use in spacecraft millions of miles from Earth. Additionally, the radio frequencies traditionally used for deep space can pass through clouds, while laser (optical frequencies) can be partially to completely blocked by them. The project hopes to overcome this limitation by employing two separate ground terminals, on the chance that if one terminal is clouded over, the other might be clear.

Sponsored Recommendations

Advancing Neuroscience Using High-Precision 3D Printing

March 7, 2025
Learn how Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Used High-Precision 3D Printing to Advance Neuroscience Research using 3D Printed Optical Drives.

From Prototyping to Production: How High-Precision 3D Printing is Reinventing Electronics Manufacturing

March 7, 2025
Learn how micro 3D printing is enabling miniaturization. As products get smaller the challenge to manufacture small parts increases.

Sputtered Thin-film Coatings

Feb. 27, 2025
Optical thin-film coatings can be deposited by a variety of methods. Learn about 2 traditional methods and a deposition process called sputtering.

What are Notch Filters?

Feb. 27, 2025
Notch filters are ideal for applications that require nearly complete rejection of a laser line while passing as much non-laser light as possible.

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Laser Focus World, create an account today!