NASA’s Endeavor for the Moon

Over 50 years ago, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin took the first steps on the Moon as part of 

NASA’s Apollo 11 mission.

Now, through the Artemis program, NASA is establishing a renewed presence on the Moon. We 

will watch this journey through high-resolution videos sent back through laser communications 

technologies. 
Laser Communications 

NASA is developing laser communications to improve our missions and increase data capabilities. Laser 

communications use infrared light rather than radio waves to transmit data. 

Since the beginning of spaceflight, NASA has used radio frequency to send and receive information from 

satellites in space. In the future, radio and laser communications systems will work together to support 

missions both near and far. 
The Benefits

Laser communications will provide significant benefits for missions, including:

• 10 to 100 times more data than current radio frequency systems in a single downlink 

• Decreased size, weight, and power requirements

With laser communications supplementing radio, missions will have unprecedented flexibility. 
LCRD

NASA’s Laser Communications Relay

Demonstration (LCRD) is targeting

November 22, 2021, for a launch from

the Cape Canaveral Space Force

Station.

LCRD will be NASA’s first laser

communications relay system with two

bi-directional optical links.

For its first two years in orbit, LCRD will

demonstrate its capabilities with various

experiments on the ground and in

space.
How Does LCRD Work?

LCRD will relay data between two ground stations. 

This means it will receive data from one station before 

sending it on to the next, serving as a communications gobetween. 

When data is received through one telescope, it will be 

processed by modems onboard and then sent back out 

the other telescope to the second ground station.

This mimics the way a future laser communication network 

might receive data from a spacecraft before forwarding it 

on to a ground station on Earth.
Planetary Laser Comm

LCRD is a technology demonstration that will display the value of laser communications relay 

satellites.

Relay satellites are used around Earth and Mars, but they use radio frequency. 

LCRD proves that using laser communications relay systems is possible, regardless if we are near 

Earth, at the Moon, or even Mars.
LCRD

The U.S. Space Force Space Test Program

Satellite 6 (STPSat-6) is hosting LCRD, 22,000

miles from Earth in geosynchronous orbit.

The payload will support missions in the nearEarth region, including the International Space

Station.

LCRD, like many NASA missions, was created

and planned by numerous partners, including:

• NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology –

Lincoln Laboratory

• U.S. Space Force

• Northrop Grumman

• United Launch Alliance
LCRD 

Experimenters

LCRD will spend two years validating its

capabilities with a variety of experiments.

These experiments will increase the aerospace

community’s knowledge about laser capabilities.

The LCRD Experimenters Program is open to

anyone from NASA, other government agencies,

industry, academia, and more.

There are opportunities to still be involved. Learn

more at https://go.nasa.gov/3tUZFkq

Ground Stations

LCRD’s ground stations are at Table Mountain, California, and Haleakalā, Hawaii. 

These locations were chosen for their minimal cloud coverage, as clouds can block laser 

transmissions. 
NASA’s Laser Communications Roadmap
T-BIRD

The Terabyte Infrared Delivery

(TBIRD) mission is a free space highdata-rate laser communications

demonstration.

Although the size of a shoebox,

TBIRD will demonstrate a downlink of

200 gigabits per second - an

extremely rare capability.

TBIRD is a joint mission between

NASA and MIT-LL.
ILLUMA-T

Launching no earlier than 2022, LCRD’s

first user will be the Integrated LCRD LowEarth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier

Terminal (ILLUMA-T) on the International

Space Station.

ILLUMA-T will give astronauts living and

working on the space station

unprecedented data rates to communicate

high-resolution experiment and instrument

data down to Earth for investigation and

discovery.
O2O

The Orion Artemis II Optical

Communications System (O2O) is a

laser terminal flying on NASA’s second

Artemis II mission.

O2O will further demonstrate that laser

communications are a viable option for

lunar missions.
DSOC

NASA’s Psyche mission will host the

Deep Space Optical Communications

(DSOC) payload. Psyche is launching

in 2022 and will reach its destination,

the 16 Psyche asteroid, in 2026.

The DSOC payload will test laser

communications technologies against

the distinctive challenges presented by

deep space exploration.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory

leads DSOC development.
Future Exploration

Through the Artemis program, NASA plans to establish humanity’s presence on the

Moon, and laser communications will play a vital role.

NASA is developing LunaNet, a lunar communication and navigation architecture that will

use radio frequency and laser communications to give missions internet-like capabilities

on the Moon.
Watch LCRD Launch!

On November 22, 2021, NASA’s LCRD will blast off to space and 

show the world the benefits of laser communications! 

Follow along and watch the launch live on NASA TV and 

nasa.gov/live.
Learn More:

• What is the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration? | NASA

• LCRD Overview Video | YouTube

• NASA Laser Communications (@NASALaserComm) | Twitter

• Optical Communications | NASA

• Technology Demonstration Missions | NASA

Resources:

• Visit nasa/gov/lasercomms for these resources:

o STEM activities

o Fact sheet, bookmark, poster (Spanish versions available)

o Virtual wallpaper

o Videos