NASA sends cat video from spaceship 31 million km away to Earth | Watch Video
PTC News Desk: NASA announced a groundbreaking feat on Monday, employing an advanced laser communication system on a spacecraft positioned 19 million miles (31 million kilometers) from Earth to send a high-definition cat video.
The 15-second clip stars Taters, an orange tabby, marking the first-ever video transmission from deep space. This demonstration showcases the potential for transmitting higher data-rate communications, crucial for intricate missions like potential human endeavors to Mars. Transmitted via a laser transceiver mounted on the Psyche probe, currently en-route to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, this intriguing video voyage occurred when the spacecraft was at a distance 80 times greater than the Earth-Moon span.
The encoded near-infrared signal was captured by the Hale Telescope at Caltech's Palomar Observatory in San Diego County, then relayed to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California. Bill Klipstein, the project manager for the tech demo at JPL, explained, "Our aim was to demonstrate transmitting broadband video across millions of miles. As Psyche doesn't generate video data, we usually send packets of randomly generated test data. However, for this special occasion, we collaborated with JPL designers to craft a playful video, encapsulating the essence of the demo within the Psyche mission."We just streamed the first ultra-HD video brought to you via laser from deep space. And it’s a video of Taters, a tabby cat.
This test will pave the way for high-data-rate communications in support of the next giant leap: sending humans to Mars. https://t.co/tf2hWxaHWO pic.twitter.com/c1FwybYsxA — NASA (@NASA) December 19, 2023
Historically, space missions have relied on radio waves for data transmission. Yet, laser technology exhibits the potential to amplify data rates significantly, ranging from 10 to 100 times the current capability.
In a remarkable feat, an ultra-HD cat video traversed an astronomical distance of 101 seconds, reaching Earth through a laser communication system operating at its maximum bit rate of 267 megabits per second. This velocity surpasses the speeds commonly found in typical home broadband connections.
Ryan Rogalin, the receiver electronics lead at JPL, revealed, "Surprisingly, the video's journey from Palomar to JPL via the internet faced slower transmission speeds than the signal traveling from the depths of space."
The selection of a cat video holds historical significance, resonating with JPL's nod to broadcasting history. In the nascent stages of American television interest in the 1920s, a statue of Felix the Cat was broadcasted as a test image, linking cats to media experimentation.
Beyond history, the universal popularity of cats in internet culture and meme supremacy influenced the choice. The pre-launched footage features Tabby, a JPL employee's pet, playfully engaging with a laser light on a couch, adorned with overlay graphics showcasing Psyche's orbital trajectory and laser technical data.
While laser transmission has been proven successful in low Earth orbit and even reached the Moon, the Psyche mission marks its inaugural deployment in deep space. This innovative technology confronts substantial challenges, particularly the requirement for exceptionally precise "pointing" due to the vast distances involved.
One of the paramount technical hurdles engineers had to conquer involves compensating for the movement of both the probe and Earth during the signal's travel time. As light journeys from the spacecraft to our planet, adjustments in the uplink and downlink lasers become imperative to accommodate this cosmic choreography.
- With inputs from agencies
