It may take longer than snail mail, but NASA has successfully received a message that the space agency laser-beamed to itself from almost 10 million miles away.
The laser-beamed message was part of the Psyche mission, which launched in mid-October to observe a metal asteroid between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, thanks to another piece of tech on board.
During the first two years of Psyche’s mission, the Deep Space Optical Communications technology demonstration will be along for the ride with a mission of its own.
The message received last week was the first milestone of the mission, as it demonstrated the furthest distance that laser communications have ever been sent and received.
The message traveled nearly 10 million miles to the Hale Telescope at the California Institute of Technology’s Palomar Observatory in Pasadena, California. That distance is 40 times further than the moon is from Earth.
The technology is able to send information via an invisible near-infrared laser, which travels at 10 to 100 times the speed of traditional radio wave systems that NASA typically uses.
The advancement in the messaging system could be key to helping astronomers go further into space as they try to understand more about the beginning of the universe.
Depending on how the next few years go, the technology could become the basis for what is used to communicate with humans exploring Mars.
While DSOC’s mission will wrap up in 2025, Psyche still has a ways to go, however, as the spacecraft will spend the next six years traveling nearly 2.2 billion miles to reach its namesake, located in the outer part of the main asteroid belt.
However, the mission is already being deemed a success, with DSOC achieving “first light,” successfully sending and receiving its first message.
“Achieving first light is one of many critical DSOC milestones in the coming months, paving the way toward higher-data-rate communications capable of sending scientific information, high-definition imagery, and streaming video in support of humanity’s next giant leap: sending humans to Mars,” Trudy Kortes, director of technology demonstrations for the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA, said in a statement.