NASA’s DSOC experiment, conducted aboard the Psyche spacecraft, successfully demonstrated the longest-distance optical communications in history using near-infrared lasers from 10 million miles away. The milestone, managed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, marks a significant advance in space communications technology and promises higher data transmission rates on future deep space missions.Credit: NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology
An experiment that could transform the way spacecraft communicate, DSOC was the first to achieve “first light,” sending data via laser to the far reaches of the moon.
NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment sends near-infrared lasers encoded with test data to the California Institute of Technology from a distance of nearly 10 million miles (16 million kilometers), about 40 times further away than the moon from Earth. I irradiated the Hale Telescope at the University of Palomar. Observatory in San Diego County, California. This is the farthest demonstration of optical communications to date.
Aboard the recently launched Psyche spacecraft, DSOC will send high-bandwidth test data to Earth as Psyche travels between the asteroid belt and the asteroid belt during a two-year technology demonstration. It has been constructed. Mars and Jupiter. NASAJet Propulsion Laboratory (JPLSouthern California _ manages both DSOC and Psyche.
![NASA psych spacecraft in a clean room](https://scitechdaily.com/images/NASA-Psyche-Spacecraft-in-Clean-Room-777x518.jpg 777w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/NASA-Psyche-Spacecraft-in-Clean-Room-400x267.jpg 400w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/NASA-Psyche-Spacecraft-in-Clean-Room-768x512.jpg 768w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/NASA-Psyche-Spacecraft-in-Clean-Room-1536x1024.jpg 1536w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/NASA-Psyche-Spacecraft-in-Clean-Room.jpg 1920w)
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft is on display in a clean room at the AstroTech Space Operations Facility near Kennedy Space Center in Florida on December 8, 2022. A DSOC gold-capped flight laser transceiver can be seen mounted near the center of the spacecraft. Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
The technology demonstration took place in the early morning hours of November 14 after the flying laser transceiver, a cutting-edge piece of equipment aboard Psyche (see image below) capable of transmitting and receiving near-infrared signals, was locked onto a powerful uplink laser beacon. Achieved “first light”. He was sent from the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory at JPL’s Table Mountain facility near Wrightwood, California. The uplink beacon helped the transceiver point the downlink laser toward Palomar (100 miles, or 130 kilometers) south of Table Mountain, while automatic systems in the transceiver and ground station fine-tuned its pointing.
![DSOC Flight Laser Transceiver](https://scitechdaily.com/images/DSOC-Flight-Laser-Transceiver-777x564.jpg 777w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/DSOC-Flight-Laser-Transceiver-400x290.jpg 400w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/DSOC-Flight-Laser-Transceiver-768x558.jpg 768w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/DSOC-Flight-Laser-Transceiver-1536x1115.jpg 1536w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/DSOC-Flight-Laser-Transceiver-2048x1487.jpg 2048w)
A Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) technology demonstration flight laser transceiver was installed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Center in Southern California in April 2021 before being installed inside a box-like enclosure that was later integrated with NASA’s Psyche spacecraft. exhibited at the research institute. The transceiver consists of a near-infrared laser transmitter that transmits high-speed data to Earth and a highly sensitive photon-counting camera that receives low-speed data transmitted from the ground. The transceiver is attached to the strut and actuator assembly shown in this photo, which stabilizes the optics from spacecraft vibrations.Credit: NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology
“Achieving First Light is one of many important milestones to be achieved at DSOC in the coming months, with high speeds capable of transmitting scientific information, high-definition images, and streaming video to support humanity’s next great leap forward. Paving the way to data communications. send humans to mars” said Trudy Cortez, director of technology demonstrations at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
Test data was also transmitted simultaneously via the uplink and downlink lasers. This is a procedure known as “closing links,” which is the main purpose of the experiment. While this technology demonstration does not transmit Psyche mission data, we are working closely with the Psyche mission support team to ensure that DSOC operations do not interfere with spacecraft operations.
Learn more about how DSOC will be used to test high-bandwidth data transmission beyond the Moon for the first time and how it could transform deep space exploration. Credit: NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology/ASU
“Tuesday morning’s test was the first to fully incorporate ground assets and flight transceivers, requiring the DSOC and Psyche operations teams to work together,” said Meera Srinivasan, DSOC operations lead at JPL. says. “This is a formidable challenge, and there is still much work to do, but we were able to transmit, receive and decode some data, albeit briefly.”
Before achieving this accomplishment, the project had to tick off several other milestones, from removing the protective cover of the flight laser transceiver to powering up the equipment. Meanwhile, the Psyche spacecraft is conducting its own tests, including powering up its propulsion system and testing equipment that will be used to study the asteroid Psyche when it arrives in 2028.
![NASA DSOC Flight Laser Transceiver Operations Team](https://scitechdaily.com/images/NASA-DSOC-Flight-Laser-Transceiver-Operations-Team-777x583.jpg 777w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/NASA-DSOC-Flight-Laser-Transceiver-Operations-Team-400x300.jpg 400w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/NASA-DSOC-Flight-Laser-Transceiver-Operations-Team-768x576.jpg 768w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/NASA-DSOC-Flight-Laser-Transceiver-Operations-Team-1536x1152.jpg 1536w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/NASA-DSOC-Flight-Laser-Transceiver-Operations-Team.jpg 2000w)
NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) Technology Demonstration Flight Laser Transceiver Operations team was working at JPL’s Psyche Mission Support Area in the early morning hours of November 14, when the project achieved “first light.”Credit: NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology
first light and first bit
With the success of the first light, the DSOC team will now work on improving the system that controls the directivity of the downlink laser on the transceiver. If the project is successful, demonstrations could begin to sustain high-bandwidth data transmission from transceivers to Palomar at various distances from Earth. This data takes the form of bits (the smallest units of data that a computer can process) encoded into laser photons (quantum particles of light). After a special superconducting high-efficiency detector array (see image below) detects the photons, new signal processing techniques are used to extract data from the single photons arriving at the Hale telescope.
![DSOC Superconducting Nanowire Single Photon Detector](https://scitechdaily.com/images/DSOC-Superconducting-Nanowire-Single-Photon-Detector-777x583.jpg 777w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/DSOC-Superconducting-Nanowire-Single-Photon-Detector-400x300.jpg 400w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/DSOC-Superconducting-Nanowire-Single-Photon-Detector-768x576.jpg 768w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/DSOC-Superconducting-Nanowire-Single-Photon-Detector-1536x1152.jpg 1536w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/DSOC-Superconducting-Nanowire-Single-Photon-Detector-2048x1535.jpg 2048w)
Shown here is the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) superconducting nanowire single-photon detector connected to the 200-inch (5.1-meter) Hale Telescope at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, California. ) is an identical copy of . Built by the Microdevices Laboratory at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, the detector is part of a technology demonstration that detects near-infrared light from a DSOC flight transceiver traveling with NASA’s deep space psych mission. Designed to receive laser signals.Credit: NASA/JPL-California Institute of Technology
The DSOC experiment aims to demonstrate data transmission rates 10 to 100 times higher than state-of-the-art radio frequency systems used in today’s spacecraft. Both wireless communications and near-infrared laser communications use electromagnetic waves to transmit data, but near-infrared light packs data into denser radio waves, allowing ground stations to receive more data. This will help future human and robotic exploration missions and support higher resolution scientific instruments.
“Optical communications are a boon for scientists and researchers who are always looking for more from their space missions, and will enable deep space exploration by humans,” said Director of Advanced Communications and Navigation Technologies, NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation Division. says Dr. Jason Mitchell. (SCaN) program. “More data means more discoveries.”
Optical communications have been demonstrated in low Earth orbit and to the Moon, but DSOC is the first test in deep space. Just as a laser pointer is used to track a moving dime from a mile away, directing a laser beam millions of miles away requires extremely precise “pointing.” is required.
![DSOC Ground Laser Transmitter Operator](https://scitechdaily.com/images/DSOC-Ground-Laser-Transmitter-Operators-777x583.jpg 777w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/DSOC-Ground-Laser-Transmitter-Operators-400x300.jpg 400w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/DSOC-Ground-Laser-Transmitter-Operators-768x576.jpg 768w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/DSOC-Ground-Laser-Transmitter-Operators-1536x1152.jpg 1536w,https://scitechdaily.com/images/DSOC-Ground-Laser-Transmitter-Operators-2048x1536.jpg 2048w)
DSOC ground laser transmitter operators pose for a photo at the Optical Communications Telescope Laboratory at the JPL Table Mountain facility near Wrightwood, Calif., shortly after a technology demonstration achieved “first light” on Nov. 14. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
The demonstration also requires compensating for the time it takes for light to travel the long distance from the spacecraft to Earth. When Psyche is at its furthest distance from Earth, DSOC’s near-infrared photons take about 20 minutes to return (compared to about 50 minutes to return). during the test on November 14th (the time it took to travel from Psyche to Earth was several seconds). During that time, both the spacecraft and the planet are moving, so the uplink and downlink lasers must adjust to their changing positions.
“Achieving first light is a tremendous accomplishment. Ground systems successfully detected deep space laser photons from the DSOC’s flight transceiver aboard Psyche,” said Abi Biswas, DSOC project engineer at JPL. states. “And we were also able to transmit some data, which means we could exchange ‘bits of light’ to and from deep space.”
Mission details
DSOC is the latest in a series of optical communications demonstrations funded by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate and the Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program within NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate.
The Psyche mission is led by Arizona State University. JPL will be responsible for overall mission management, systems engineering, integration and testing, and mission operations. Psyche is the 14th mission selected as part of the Discovery Program under NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, managed the launch services. Maxar Technologies of Palo Alto, Calif., provided the high-power solar-electric propulsion spacecraft chassis.