Moon mission to test laser spacecraft communications - Indian Express

PTI : London, Wed Jul 31 2013, 13:21 hrs An advanced laser system offering incredibly faster data speeds to link with spacecraft beyond the Earth has successfully passed a crucial ground test, scientists say. European Space Agency ESA's observatory in Spain will use the laser to communicate with a NASA Moon orbiter later this year. The laboratory testing paves the way for a live space demonstration in October, once NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) begins orbiting the Moon. LADEE carries a terminal that can transmit and receive pulses of laser light. ESA's Optical Ground Station on Tenerife will relay data at unprecedented rates using infrared light beams at a wavelength similar to that used in fiber-optic cables on Earth. "The testing went as planned, and while we identified a number of issues, we'll be ready for LADEE's mid-September launch," said Zoran Sodnik, manager for ESA's Lunar Optical Communication Link project. "Our ground station will join two NASA stations communicating with the LADEE Moon mission, and we aim to demonstrate the readiness of optical communication for future missions to Mars or anywhere else in the Solar System," Sodnik said. The testing took place in July at a Zurich, Switzerland, facility owned by ESA's industrial partner RUAG and made use of a new detector and decoding system, a ranging system and a transmitter. A NASA team brought over their laser terminal simulator, while ESA together with RUAG and Axcon of Denmark set up the European equipment to test compatibility between the two sets of hardware. "This inter-agency optical compatibility test was the first of its kind, and it established the uplink, downlink and the ranging measurement," said ESA's Klaus- uergen Schulz, responsible for ground station systems at the European Space Operations Centre, Darmstadt. Laser communications at near-infrared wavelengths may be the way of the future when it comes to downloading massive amounts of data from spacecraft orbiting Earth, Mars or even more distant planets, researchers said. ... contd. ALSO READ Monogamy may sound sweet, but why it evolved isn't Pigs smart as dogs? Activists pose the question WikiLeaks expects Manning to appeal 'dangerous' verdict Sex after heart attack? Doctors urged to give advice Please read our terms of use before posting comments TERMS OF USE: The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments posted or part thereof. You shall ensure that the comment is not inflammatory, abusive, derogatory, defamatory &/or obscene, or contain pornographic matter and/or does not constitute hate mail, or violate privacy of any person (s) or breach confidentiality or otherwise is illegal, immoral or contrary to public policy. Nor should it contain anything infringing copyright &/or intellectual property rights of any person(s). via Science - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNG2MKhyUUWIAzgDHWQA-oAsE6E2Sg&url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/moon-mission-to-test-laser-spacecraft-communications/1149221/

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