6 min read<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s Deep Space Optical Comm Demo Sends, Receives First Data<\/h1>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"NASA\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/1-pia25664-dsoc-flt.jpg?w=1723\")
<\/figure>\nNASA\u2019s Psyche spacecraft is shown in a clean room at the Astrotech Space Operations facility near the agency\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Dec. 8, 2022. DSOC\u2019s gold-capped flight laser transceiver can be seen, near center, attached to the spacecraft.<\/div>\nNASA\/Ben Smegelsky<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nDSOC, an experiment that could transform how spacecraft communicate, has achieved \u2018first light,\u2019 sending data via laser to and from far beyond the Moon for the first time.<\/em><\/p>\nNASA\u2019s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC<\/a>) experiment has beamed a near-infrared laser encoded with test data fromnearly 10 million miles (16 million kilometers) away \u2013 about 40 times farther than the Moon is from Earth \u2013 to the Hale Telescope at Caltech\u2019s Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California. This is the farthest-ever demonstration of optical communications.<\/p>\nRiding aboard the recently launched<\/a> Psyche spacecraft, DSOC is configured to send high-bandwidth test data to Earth during its two-year technology demonstration as Psyche travels to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California manages both DSOC and Psyche.<\/p>\nThe tech demo achieved \u201cfirst light\u201d in the early hours of Nov. 14 after its flight laser transceiver \u2013 a cutting-edge instrument<\/a> aboard Psyche capable of sending and receiving near-infrared signals \u2013 locked onto a powerful uplink laser beacon transmitted from the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory at JPL\u2019s Table Mountain Facility near Wrightwood, California. The uplink beacon helped the transceiver aim its downlink laser back to Palomar (which is 100 miles, or 130 kilometers, south of Table Mountain) while automated systems on the transceiver and ground stations fine-tuned its pointing.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>Learn more about how DSOC will be used to test high-bandwidth data transmission beyond the Moon for the first time \u2013 and how it could transform deep space exploration. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/ASU<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cAchieving first light is one of many critical DSOC milestones in the coming months, paving the way toward higher-data-rate communications capable of sending scientific information, high-definition imagery, and streaming video in support of humanity\u2019s next giant leap: sending humans to Mars<\/a>,\u201d said Trudy Kortes, director of Technology Demonstrations at NASA Headquarters in Washington.<\/p>\nTest data also was sent simultaneously via the uplink and downlink lasers, a procedure known as \u201cclosing the link\u201d that is a primary objective for the experiment. While the technology demonstration isn\u2019t transmitting Psyche mission data, it works closely with the Psyche mission-support team to ensure DSOC operations don\u2019t interfere with those of the spacecraft.<\/p>\n
\u201cTuesday morning\u2019stest was the first to fully incorporate the ground assets and flight transceiver, requiring the DSOC and Psyche operations teams to work in tandem,\u201d said Meera Srinivasan, operations lead for DSOC at JPL. \u201cIt was a formidable challenge, and we have a lot more work to do, but for a short time, we were able to transmit, receive, and decode some data.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before this achievement, the project needed to check the boxes on several other milestones, from removing the protective cover for the flight laser transceiver to powering up the instrument. Meanwhile, the Psyche spacecraft is carrying out its own checkouts, including powering up its propulsion systems and testing instruments that will be used to study the asteroid Psyche when it arrives there in 2028.<\/p>\n
First Light and First Bits<\/strong><\/h2>\nWith successful first light, the DSOC team will now work on refining the systems that control the pointing of the downlink laser aboard the transceiver. Once achieved, the project can begin its demonstration of maintaining high-bandwidth data transmission from the transceiver to Palomar at various distances from Earth. This data takes the form of bits (the smallest units of data a computer can process) encoded in the laser\u2019s photons \u2013 quantum particles of light. After a special superconducting high-efficiency detector array<\/a> detects the photons, new signal-processing techniques are used to extract the data from the single photons that arrive at the Hale Telescope.<\/p>\nThe DSOC experiment aims to demonstrate data transmission rates 10 to 100 times greater than the state-of-the-art radio frequency systems used by spacecraft today. Both radio and near-infrared laser communications utilize electromagnetic waves to transmit data, but near-infrared light packs the data into significantly tighter waves, enabling ground stations to receive more data. This will help future human and robotic exploration missions and support higher-resolution science instruments.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/e2a-pia26143-img-3144.jpeg?w=2000\")
<\/figure>\nThe flight laser transceiver operations team for NASA\u2019s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) technology demonstration works in the Psyche mission support area at JPL in the early hours of Nov. 14, when the project achieved \u201cfirst light.\u201d <\/div>\nNASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/e2b-pia26144-glt-staff.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/figure>\nDSOC ground laser transmitter operators pose for a photo at the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory at JPL\u2019s Table Mountain Facility near Wrightwood, California, shortly after the technology demonstration achieved \u201cfirst light\u201d on Nov. 14.<\/div>\nNASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\u201cOptical communication is a boon for scientists and researchers who always want more from their space missions, and will enable human exploration of deep space,\u201d said Dr. Jason Mitchell, director of the Advanced Communications and Navigation Technologies Division within NASA\u2019s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program. \u201cMore data means more discoveries.\u201d<\/p>\n
While optical communication has been demonstrated<\/a> in low Earth orbit and out to the Moon<\/a>, DSOC is the first test in deep space. Like using a laser pointer to track a moving dime from a mile away, aiming a laser beam over millions of miles requires extremely precise \u201cpointing.\u201d<\/p>\nThe demonstration also needs to compensate for the time it takes for light to travel from the spacecraft to Earth over vast distances: At Psyche\u2019s farthest distance from our planet, DSOC\u2019s near-infrared photons will take about 20 minutes to travel back (they took about 50 seconds to travel from Psyche to Earth during the Nov. 14 test). In that time, both spacecraft and planet will have moved, so the uplink and downlink lasers need to adjust for the change in location. <\/p>\n
\u201cAchieving first light is a tremendous achievement. The ground systems successfully detected the deep space laser photons from DSOC\u2019s flight transceiver aboard Psyche,\u201d said Abi Biswas, project technologist for DSOC at JPL. \u201cAnd we were also able to send some data, meaning we were able to exchange \u2018bits of light\u2019 from and to deep space.\u201d<\/p>\n
More About the Mission<\/strong><\/h2>\nDSOC is the latest in a series of optical communication demonstrations funded by NASA\u2019s Space Technology Mission Directorate and the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program within the agency\u2019s Space Operations Mission Directorate.<\/p>\n
The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. JPL is responsible for the mission\u2019s overall management, system engineering, integration and test, and mission operations. Psyche is the 14th mission selected as part of NASA\u2019s Discovery Program under the Science Mission Directorate, managed by the agency\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. NASA\u2019s Launch Services Program, based at the agency\u2019s Kennedy Space Center, managed the launch service. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis.<\/p>\n
For more information about DSOC, visit:<\/p>\n
<\/figure>DSOC, an experiment that could transform how spacecraft communicate, has achieved \u2018first light,\u2019 sending data via laser to and from far beyond the Moon for the first time.<\/em><\/p>\n NASA\u2019s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC<\/a>) experiment has beamed a near-infrared laser encoded with test data fromnearly 10 million miles (16 million kilometers) away \u2013 about 40 times farther than the Moon is from Earth \u2013 to the Hale Telescope at Caltech\u2019s Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California. This is the farthest-ever demonstration of optical communications.<\/p>\n Riding aboard the recently launched<\/a> Psyche spacecraft, DSOC is configured to send high-bandwidth test data to Earth during its two-year technology demonstration as Psyche travels to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California manages both DSOC and Psyche.<\/p>\n The tech demo achieved \u201cfirst light\u201d in the early hours of Nov. 14 after its flight laser transceiver \u2013 a cutting-edge instrument<\/a> aboard Psyche capable of sending and receiving near-infrared signals \u2013 locked onto a powerful uplink laser beacon transmitted from the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory at JPL\u2019s Table Mountain Facility near Wrightwood, California. The uplink beacon helped the transceiver aim its downlink laser back to Palomar (which is 100 miles, or 130 kilometers, south of Table Mountain) while automated systems on the transceiver and ground stations fine-tuned its pointing.<\/p>\n \u201cAchieving first light is one of many critical DSOC milestones in the coming months, paving the way toward higher-data-rate communications capable of sending scientific information, high-definition imagery, and streaming video in support of humanity\u2019s next giant leap: sending humans to Mars<\/a>,\u201d said Trudy Kortes, director of Technology Demonstrations at NASA Headquarters in Washington.<\/p>\n Test data also was sent simultaneously via the uplink and downlink lasers, a procedure known as \u201cclosing the link\u201d that is a primary objective for the experiment. While the technology demonstration isn\u2019t transmitting Psyche mission data, it works closely with the Psyche mission-support team to ensure DSOC operations don\u2019t interfere with those of the spacecraft.<\/p>\n \u201cTuesday morning\u2019stest was the first to fully incorporate the ground assets and flight transceiver, requiring the DSOC and Psyche operations teams to work in tandem,\u201d said Meera Srinivasan, operations lead for DSOC at JPL. \u201cIt was a formidable challenge, and we have a lot more work to do, but for a short time, we were able to transmit, receive, and decode some data.\u201d<\/p>\n Before this achievement, the project needed to check the boxes on several other milestones, from removing the protective cover for the flight laser transceiver to powering up the instrument. Meanwhile, the Psyche spacecraft is carrying out its own checkouts, including powering up its propulsion systems and testing instruments that will be used to study the asteroid Psyche when it arrives there in 2028.<\/p>\n With successful first light, the DSOC team will now work on refining the systems that control the pointing of the downlink laser aboard the transceiver. Once achieved, the project can begin its demonstration of maintaining high-bandwidth data transmission from the transceiver to Palomar at various distances from Earth. This data takes the form of bits (the smallest units of data a computer can process) encoded in the laser\u2019s photons \u2013 quantum particles of light. After a special superconducting high-efficiency detector array<\/a> detects the photons, new signal-processing techniques are used to extract the data from the single photons that arrive at the Hale Telescope.<\/p>\n The DSOC experiment aims to demonstrate data transmission rates 10 to 100 times greater than the state-of-the-art radio frequency systems used by spacecraft today. Both radio and near-infrared laser communications utilize electromagnetic waves to transmit data, but near-infrared light packs the data into significantly tighter waves, enabling ground stations to receive more data. This will help future human and robotic exploration missions and support higher-resolution science instruments.<\/p>\n \u201cOptical communication is a boon for scientists and researchers who always want more from their space missions, and will enable human exploration of deep space,\u201d said Dr. Jason Mitchell, director of the Advanced Communications and Navigation Technologies Division within NASA\u2019s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program. \u201cMore data means more discoveries.\u201d<\/p>\n While optical communication has been demonstrated<\/a> in low Earth orbit and out to the Moon<\/a>, DSOC is the first test in deep space. Like using a laser pointer to track a moving dime from a mile away, aiming a laser beam over millions of miles requires extremely precise \u201cpointing.\u201d<\/p>\n The demonstration also needs to compensate for the time it takes for light to travel from the spacecraft to Earth over vast distances: At Psyche\u2019s farthest distance from our planet, DSOC\u2019s near-infrared photons will take about 20 minutes to travel back (they took about 50 seconds to travel from Psyche to Earth during the Nov. 14 test). In that time, both spacecraft and planet will have moved, so the uplink and downlink lasers need to adjust for the change in location. <\/p>\n \u201cAchieving first light is a tremendous achievement. The ground systems successfully detected the deep space laser photons from DSOC\u2019s flight transceiver aboard Psyche,\u201d said Abi Biswas, project technologist for DSOC at JPL. \u201cAnd we were also able to send some data, meaning we were able to exchange \u2018bits of light\u2019 from and to deep space.\u201d<\/p>\n DSOC is the latest in a series of optical communication demonstrations funded by NASA\u2019s Space Technology Mission Directorate and the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program within the agency\u2019s Space Operations Mission Directorate.<\/p>\n The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. JPL is responsible for the mission\u2019s overall management, system engineering, integration and test, and mission operations. Psyche is the 14th mission selected as part of NASA\u2019s Discovery Program under the Science Mission Directorate, managed by the agency\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. NASA\u2019s Launch Services Program, based at the agency\u2019s Kennedy Space Center, managed the launch service. Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis.<\/p>\n For more information about DSOC, visit:<\/p>\nFirst Light and First Bits<\/strong><\/h2>\n
<\/figure><\/figure>More About the Mission<\/strong><\/h2>\n