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HomeMissionsHumans in SpaceEarth & ClimateThe Solar SystemThe UniverseScienceAeronauticsTechnologyLearning ResourcesAbout NASAEspañol			News & Events
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 Featured Earth as seen by Apollo 17 in 19722 min readJoin NASA in Celebrating Earth Day 2024 by Sharing a #GlobalSelfiearticle4 hours ago NASA Selects New Aircraft-Driven Studies of Earth and Climate Change6 min readNASA Selects New Aircraft-Driven Studies of Earth and Climate Changearticle4 hours ago This 2024 Earth Day poster is an ocean themed vertical 15x30 illustration created from NASA satellite cloud imagery overlaid on ocean data. The white cloud imagery wraps around shapes, defining three whales and a school of fish. Swirly cloud patterns, called Von Kármán Vortices, create the feeling of movement in the composition. The focal point is a cyclone in the upper third of the poster. At the center flies the recently launched PACE satellite. The ocean imagery – composed of blues, aquas, and greens – is filled with subtle color changes and undulating patterns created by churning sediment, organic matter and phytoplankton.4 min readThe Ocean Touches Everything: Celebrate Earth Day with NASAarticle1 week ago
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 Highlights Mars Science Laboratory: Curiosity Rover

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		Mars Science Laboratory: Curiosity Rover

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			3 hours ago NASA Selects New Aircraft-Driven Studies of Earth and Climate Change

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		NASA Selects New Aircraft-Driven Studies of Earth and Climate Change

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			4 hours ago Hubble Captures a Bright Galactic and Stellar Duo

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 Highlights NASA Selects New Aircraft-Driven Studies of Earth and Climate Change

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		NASA Selects New Aircraft-Driven Studies of Earth and Climate Change

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			6 hours ago AI for Earth: How NASA’s Artificial Intelligence and Open Science Efforts Combat Climate Change

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Optical As science instruments evolve to capture high-definition data like 4K video, missions will need expedited ways to transmit information to Earth. With laser communications, NASA can significantly accelerate the data transfer process and empower more discoveries. Optical, or laser, communications will enable 10 to 100 times more data transmitted back to Earth than current radio frequency systems.
 Quick Facts Optical communications systems are ideal for missions because they need less volume, weight, and power. Less mass means more room for science instruments, and less power means less of a drain of spacecraft power systems.
 Optical communications systems are ideal for missions because they need less volume, weight, and power. Less mass means more room for science instruments, and less power means less of a drain of spacecraft power systems.
 It would take roughly nine weeks to transmit a complete map of Mars back to Earth with current radio frequency systems. With lasers, it would take about nine days.
 It would take roughly nine weeks to transmit a complete map of Mars back to Earth with current radio frequency systems. With lasers, it would take about nine days.
 Infrared light packs data into significantly tighter waves, meaning ground stations can receive more data at once.
 Infrared light packs data into significantly tighter waves, meaning ground stations can receive more data at once.
 Although optical communications systems reduce size, weight, and power requirements, the entire Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) payload is actually the size of a standard king-sized mattress!
 Although optical communications systems reduce size, weight, and power requirements, the entire Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) payload is actually the size of a standard king-sized mattress!
 Orion orbiting the Moon with a laser linking back to EarthNASA’s O2O terminal demonstrating the benefits of laser communications on Artemis II.NASA / Dave Ryan
 LCRD communicating to ISS over laser linksLCRD communicating over laser links to ILLUMA-T on the International Space Station.NASA / Dave Ryan
 NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration instrument.NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration instrument.NASA
 A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launches on the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program 3 (STP-3) mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launches on the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program 3 (STP-3) mission from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission’s Space Test Program Satellite-6 (STPSat-6) spacecraft hosts NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) and the NASA-U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Ultraviolet Spectro-Coronagraph (UVSC) Pathfinder.NASA/Joel Kowsky
 A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launches on the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program 3 (STP-3) mission from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launches on the Department of Defense’s Space Test Program 3 (STP-3) mission from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission’s Space Test Program Satellite-6 (STPSat-6) spacecraft hosts NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) and the NASA-U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Ultraviolet Spectro-Coronagraph (UVSC) Pathfinder.NASA/Joel Kowsky
 ILLUMA-T and LCRD communicating over red laser links.LCRD communicating with ILLUMA-T over laser links.NASA / Dave Ryan
 NASA's ILLUMA-T payload in final assembly and testing at the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.NASA’s ILLUMA-T payload in a Goddard Space Flight Center cleanroom undergoing integration and testing.NASA
 TBIRD communicating over laser links to EarthTBIRD downlinking data to Earth from low-Earth orbitNASA / Dave Ryan
 The completed TeraByte InfraRed Delivery (TBIRD) payload at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory.The completed TeraByte InfraRed Delivery (TBIRD) payload at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory.Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory
 Why Lasers?
						How it Works
						Benefits & Challenges Why Optical?
 With optical communications, NASA can significantly accelerate the data transfer process and empower more discoveries. Since the beginning of spaceflight in the 1950s, NASA missions have leveraged radio frequency communications to send data to and from space. Optical communications, also known as laser communications, will further empower missions with unprecedented data capabilities. Read More
 Graphic representation of the difference in data rates between radio and laser communications. Graphic representation of the difference in data rates between radio and optical communications.NASA
 How it Works
 Both radio waves and infrared light are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths at different points on the electromagnetic spectrum. The infrared light used for laser communications differs from radio waves because the infrared light packs the data into significantly tighter waves, meaning ground stations can receive more data at once. While laser communications aren’t necessarily faster, more data can be transmitted in one downlink. Read More
 LCRD communicating down to Earth LCRD communicating down to Earth over laser links.NASA
 Benefits & Challenges
 Optical communications will provide significant benefits for missions, including bandwidth increases of 10 to 100 times more than radio frequency systems. The critical move to optical communications will provide numerous benefits to NASA’s user missions. For all its benefits, optical communications still faces several challenges. Read More
 Illustration of the LCRD communicating data from the space station to Earth. Illustration of the LCRD communicating data from the space station to Earth.NASA / Dave Ryan
 Featured News
 More Optical News
 Article5 Min ReadWhat’s Next: The Future of NASA’s Laser Communications
 Article5 Min ReadCubeSat Set to Demonstrate NASA’s Fastest Laser Link from Space Article4 Min ReadExploring Together, NASA and Industry Embrace Laser Communications Article7 Min Read6 Things You Need to Know about NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration
 6 Min ReadGetting NASA Data to the Ground with LasersArticle 5 Min ReadNASA Laser Communications Innovations: A TimelineArticle 5 Min ReadLaser Communications: Empowering More Data Than Ever BeforeArticle 4 Min ReadNew Ground Station Brings Laser Communications Closer To RealityArticle
 Laser Communications Relay Demonstration NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) is demonstrating NASA's first two-way laser relay communications system, sending and receiving data over invisible infrared lasers from its location in geosynchronous orbit with ground stations in California and Hawaii. Learn More                                    about Laser Communications Relay Demonstration
  LCRD communicating to ISS over laser links
 Related Missions
 Explore missions related to laser communications.
 All NASA Galleries
 Orion orbiting the Moon with a laser linking back to Earth
 Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System (O2O)
 O2O will leverage laser communications on the Orion spacecraft, enabling live, ultra-high-definition video feeds between astronauts and Earth. Read More
 ILLUMA-T and LCRD communicating over red laser links.
 Integrated LCRD Low-Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T)
 ILLUMA-T will be LCRD's first user and bring laser capabilities to the International Space Station. Read More
 The completed TeraByte InfraRed Delivery (TBIRD) payload at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory.
 TeraByte InfraRed Delivery (TBIRD)
 TBIRD is demonstrating a direct-to-Earth laser communications link from a CubeSat in low-Earth orbit. Read More
 LCRD communicating to ISS over laser links
 Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD)
 Launched on December 7, 2021, the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) aims to showcase the unique capabilities of optical communications. Read More
 DSOC Package on Psyche spacecraft.
 Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC)
 The DSOC package will be aboard NASA's Psyche mission and utilizes photons to transmit more data in a given amount of time. Read More
 The International Space Station
 Optical Payload for Lasercomm Science (OPALS)
 OPALS is a technology demonstration aboard the International Space Station designed to test the use of focused laser energy for space communications. Read More
 Laser information transmission between Earth and space vehicle.
 Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration (LLCD)
 From October 2013 through April 2014, LLCD demonstration laser communications during the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) mission. Read More
 OCSD Integration
 Optical Communications and Sensor Demonstration (OCSD)
 OCSD, consisting of three CubeSats launched in 2017, conducted the first-ever high-speed laser communications downlink from a CubeSat to a ground station. Read More
  What’s Next: The Future of NASA’s Laser Communications
 NASA uses lasers to send information to and from Earth, employing invisible beams to traverse the skies, sending terabytes of... Read the Story
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