NASA Will Use Lasers To Send Back High-resolution Video From The Moon

In recent years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is using lasers to further develop the way of communication between spacecraft. The latest news recently showed that NASA is planning to use lasers to take high-resolution images and videos from the moon and send them back to Earth.
In the past, NASA relied primarily on radio signals to return scientific data from deep space to Earth through its space network. And now with the addition of lasers, NASA will be able to dramatically increase the amount of data available to the spacecraft, and it is ready to apply this technology to the moon.
It is reported that NASA recently incorporated laser communications into the Orion "Artemis 2" (Artemis 2) manned lunar orbiting spacecraft. On board the Orion capsule, this communication system will send high-resolution images and video from the lunar region and transmit them to Earth. If all goes as planned, systems on Earth will be able to observe the Moon in real time with unprecedented clarity.
With such a communication system, the transmission speed is like an instantaneous leap from the era of dial-up Internet access to the era of gigabit fiber optic transmission. Laser communication not only enables more and faster data transmission, but also improves the security of the information and saves the weight and power consumption of space vehicles.
In December 2021, NASA launched and tested the first two-way laser relay communications payload (LCRD), and in May 2022, NASA launched the "Terabyte Infrared Transmission (TBIRD)" payload, with a data rate of 1.5 times per second. In May 2022, NASA launched the "Terabyte Infrared Transmission (TBIRD)" payload, with a data rate of 200 gigabits per second, transmitting nearly 1 terabyte of data to Earth in about five minutes. And now, NASA is preparing the Integrated Low Earth Orbit (LEO) Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) for launch to the International Space Station (ISS) later this year. -T will relay data back to Earth via the LCRD payload in NASA's first end-to-end laser relay communications system.
These experiments will provide a more stable foundation for NASA's Artemis 2 manned lunar orbiting mission. "Artemis 2, the second part of the U.S. "Return to the Moon" program, is expected to launch in 2024 and is expected to carry four astronauts around the moon for one week before returning to Earth. Last month, NASA has announced the list of astronauts for the lunar orbiting mission.