[Upbeat Music]
NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration
(LCRD) is blasting off to space from Florida to prove
we can communicate using lasers.
LCRD will relay sample data,
like glimpses of planetary surfaces
or satellite health,
down to Earth over infrared lasers.
Historically, NASA has used
radio waves to communicate.
When we landed on the Moon in 1969,
Neil Armstrong’s
first words came across radio waves.
“That’s one
small step for man,
one
giant leap for mankind.”
When we go back to the moon,
we’re going to stay longer
and explore more.
With so many new and exciting things
happening on the Moon,
missions will need a better way to talk with Earth.
That is where lasers come in.
LCRD will demo
the vast capabilities of
laser communications.
This includes transmitting 10 to 100
times more information to Earth
than is possible using radio systems
meaning missions can send
more detailed photos,
videos, and data.
When LCRD reaches its
destination, it will spend
two years conducting experiments that will
be developed by NASA
and our friends in industry and academia.
LCRD’s
first orbiting experimental
user will be the International Space Station.
Astronauts
live and work there, conducting
research about life in space,
microgravity, biology, and more.
Using lasers,
the station will be able to relay
more experimental data
to scientists on Earth.
Laser systems are great for missions
like the space station because they weigh less,
are smaller, and use less
power than radio systems.
A smaller size means more room
for science instruments.
Less weight means
a less expensive launch.
Less power means less drain
on the spacecraft’s batteries.
LCRD and the space station
will work together and
demonstrate laser communications near Earth.
This will help prove laser systems
are an option for our future expeditions
back to the Moon and then on to Mars.
Join us and learn more at
nasa.gov/lasercomms