Laser system used
The space probe Psyche, which is heading to the asteroid of the same name, transmitted information to Earth via a laser communication system. It turned out very quickly.
NASA described how it tested the Deep Space Optical Communications system, which was expected to transmit data 10-100 times faster than conventional radio frequency space communication systems.
The test was carried out on December 11, but NASA published the article only yesterday. The system demonstrated downlink speeds ranging from 62.5 Mbps to 267 Mbps, comparable to broadband Internet download speeds. During the test session, the team was able to download a total of 1.3 Tbits of data. By comparison, NASA's Magellan mission to Venus transmitted 1.2 Tbits during its lifetime from 1990 to 1994.
It is also worth saying that during the communication session the device was at a distance of almost 31 million km from the Earth. By the way, they transmitted a high-definition video lasting 15 seconds. It took only 101 seconds to transmit the entire video.
The Deep Space Optical Communications system on the Psyche device will be tested several more times, but scientists do not plan to use it to transmit direct scientific data — This is precisely technology testing. The last time the system will be launched is when the probe is somewhere near Mars for a gravity assist maneuver in 2026. At this moment, the distance to Earth will be about 330 million km.