Produced by: Tarun Mishra
NASA has announced the reception of a puzzling signal from deep space, originating approximately 140 million miles away.
The signal was emitted by NASA's spacecraft, "Psyche," which embarked on a space mission in October 2023 to explore the asteroid known as 'Psyche 16'.
NASA's Psyche mission aims to investigate the asteroid Psyche 16, located within the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. This asteroid is unique for its primarily metallic composition.
Alongside its primary mission, the Psyche spacecraft is testing the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) system, designed to enable laser communication over vast interplanetary distances.
Credit: NASA
Despite primarily relying on radio frequency communication, the DSOC system achieved a significant milestone by transmitting engineering data from Psyche over 140 million miles away using laser technology.
Credit: NASA
The DSOC system's successful interface with Psyche's radio transmitter demonstrates the potential for faster and more efficient communication methods in deep space exploration.
Meera Srinivasan, the project's operations lead at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, reported that the laser communications test transmitted duplicated spacecraft data during a pass on April 8.
The DSOC system demonstrated a maximum transmission rate of 25 Mbps during the test, exceeding the project's minimum goal of 1 Mbps at such distances.
Credit: X. Ravinet/University of Geneva
As Psyche continues its journey towards the Psyche 16 asteroid, it remains stable and healthy, marking a significant advancement in deep space exploration technology.