The same-named asteroid is the target of NASA’s Psyche probe, which is scheduled to arrive in 2028. NASA has been testing a new technology on Psyche in the interim, which may alter how it interacts with spacecraft. With the successful laser beaming of data to and from Earth, the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment has established a record for the furthest example of optical communication to date.
All of NASA’s deep space missions are still in communication with Earth today thanks to the Deep Space Network, an international network of radio frequency parabolic reflector antennas. Near-infrared lasers, which have the capacity to transfer far more data than radio signals, are used by DSOC for data transmission. It should come as no surprise given fiber optic technology serves as the foundation for all terrestrial communication, making it incredibly speedy.
Since Psyche is now outside of the Moon’s orbit, laser communication at such long ranges has never been accomplished before. After the on-board flight laser transceiver locked onto an uplink beacon from an Earth ground station at JPL’s Table Mountain Facility on November 14, NASA officially declared “first light” for DSOC. Given that the spacecraft is already 20 light-minutes from Earth, this uplink beam aids in its alignment for transmission. The main objective of the experiment, to verify that DSOC can “close the link,” was accomplished when test data was supplied concurrently via uplink and downlink.
While Psyche is testing this technology, not all communication is conducted through an experimental laser system. The conventional Deep Space Network will return the mission data to Earth. According to NASA’s Prasun Desai of the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), “launching with Psyche is an ideal platform to demonstrate NASA’s optical communications goal to get high-bandwidth data into deep space.”
The test is only getting started. NASA thinks that future ambitions to explore Mars with crewed missions may depend on laser communication. Therefore, DSOC was built to function all the way to Mars’ orbit, and coincidentally, Psyche will pass by Mars en route to the asteroid belt. NASA will apply the lessons learned from the first light test to start demonstrating high-bandwidth transmissions to and from Psyche as the spacecraft moves closer to the outer reaches of the solar system. According to NASA, DSOC could enable communication speeds that are between 10 and 100 times quicker than those of the most advanced radio frequency systems available today.