NASA is gearing up to test their new laser communications system. The test will last for several years and will, hopefully, lead to the implementation of a system that will enable the transmission of a much larger data stream between mission control and mission locations. It will be a complicated process with a lot of links in the technical chain that will have an opportunity to fail. The test platform will contain "telescopes, lasers, mirrors, detectors, a pointing and tracking system, control electronics, and two different types of modems." What does all this mean? It will give them much faster data downloads from probes and rovers: "It currently takes 90 minutes to transmit high-resolution images from Mars, but NASA would like to dramatically reduce that time to just minutes." It Read the complete article at the NASA website: laser-comm
Also, here are a couple of nifty videos featuring the Aurora Borealis:
As seen from the ISS: Northern Lights from the ISS
Aurora explained: Earth's Aurora
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