Laser communications set for Moon mission - Sen - Space exploration network

(Sen) - An advanced laser system offering vastly faster data speeds is ready for linking with spacecraft beyond Earth following a series of crucial ground tests. The laboratory testing paves the way for a live space demonstration. The European Space Agency's (ESA) observatory in Spain will use the laser to communicate with NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) once it begins orbiting the Moon in October. LADEE will orbit the moon to gather detailed information about the lunar atmosphere, conditions near the surface and environmental influences on lunar dust. The spacecraft's modular body is a move away from custom designs, toward multi-use designs and assembly-line production, which could drastically reduce the cost of spacecraft development. It is scheduled to launch in September 2013 from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. LADEE carries a Lunar Laser-comm Space Terminal (LLST) that transmits and receives pulses of laser light. It comprises three modules: the optical module consists of a 4 inch diameter telescope to precisely point the laser back to Earth. The modem transmits data at a rate of 622 Mbps from the Moon to Earth. The controller electronics module provides fine, closed-loop pointing and tracking control of the optical module to Earth and provides the command and telemetry interfaces between the LLST and the spacecraft. Altogether the system weighs about 65 pounds. These units are lighter, smaller and need less power than today's radio systems, promising to cut mission costs and provide opportunities for new science payloads. LADEE approaches lunar orbit. Image credit: NASA Ames/Dana Berry. ESA's Optical Ground Station (OGS) on Tenerife will be upgraded with a complementary unit and, together with two US ground terminals in New Mexico and California, will relay data at unprecedented rates using infrared light beams. "The testing went as planned, and while we identified a number of issues, we'll be ready for LADEE's mid-September launch," says 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." The testing took place at a facility in Zurich, Switzerland, 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, supported by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lincoln Laboratory and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, 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 interagency optical compatibility test was the first of its kind, and it established the uplink, downlink and the ranging measurement," says ESA's Klaus-Juergen Schulz, responsible for ground station systems at the European Space Operations Centre in 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. via Science - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEh0Dgl8bKoHUwcKTg7jmyaFy1sdA&url=http://www.sen.com/news/laser-communication-between-earth-and-moon-to-be-demonstrated.html

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