First-ever laser communications terminal to be tested on the Moon

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

First-ever laser communications terminal to be tested on the Moon

First-ever laser communications terminal to be tested on the Moon:

Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lander will deliver a laser communications terminal built by ATLAS to the Moon. Image Credit: Astrobotic

ATLAS Space Operations Inc., a company specializing in cloud-based satellite management and control services, has announced that it will test the first-ever laser communications terminal on the lunar surface. The company has recently signed a contract with Astrobotic Technology Inc., which could see their system fly to the Moon in late 2019.

The terminal, under development by ATLAS, is expected to establish the world’s first laser communication link from the lunar surface. This could mark a significant breakthrough in terms of laser communications for planetary missions.

ATLAS technologies plans to test laser communications system on the Moon. Photo Credit: Mark Usciak / SpaceFlight Insider

It is hoped this new system could serve to revolutionize deep space communications. Photo Credit: Mark Usciak / SpaceFlight Insider

“Our main goal is to demonstrate the viability of a commercial laser communications capability from the lunar surface. This is a stepping-stone to establishing a permanent infrastructure in support of future lunar activity,” Dan Carey, Director of Marketing at ATLAS Space Operations, told SpaceFlight Insider.

The terminal, which will be sent to the Moon on board Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lander, will carry out first the crucial tests for the development of this potentially ground-breaking technology. This hardware is intended to be a baseline for ATLAS’ future interplanetary communications technology. Carey noted that the tests on lunar surface will allow us to “learn the hard lessons closer to home, on the Moon, before venturing beyond.”

By sending its payload to the Moon ATLAS also aims to provide a platform for the public to access a virtual lunar experience. With this technology and lunar capability, the company would be able to provide the rest of humanity an experience that previously has been reserved for an elite class of explorers.

“Organizations like NASA and MIT/Lincoln Labs are the ones who have developed the revolutionary technology. ATLAS is taking that technology and commercializing it for the advancement of human interest in space. Our company was founded on the ideal of making space accessible to all,” Carey said.

The laser communications terminal is expected to weigh less than 22 pounds (10 kilograms) and will consume less than 60 W for up to 1.0 Gbps of data transfer to Earth. The ground segment of this system will be comprised of Earth Observation Stations, part of the International Laser Ranging Service adapted for this mission, and other commercially-available ground terminal technology previously used for laser communications.

For ATLAS’ management, the partnership with Astrobotic is considered to be key to showcase its capabilities. Moreover, both companies share the same vision of space exploration and look forward to a long-lasting collaboration.

“Astrobotic is progressive and forward thinking. Our companies share a common goal in advancing human interest in lunar and interplanetary exploration. We aim to make the ‘heavens’ more available and affordable than ever before to all who have similar interests,” Carey concluded.

The post First-ever laser communications terminal to be tested on the Moon appeared first on SpaceFlight Insider.

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The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the United States government agency responsible for the civilian space program as well as aeronautics and aerospace research. President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958 with a distinctly civilian (rather than military) orientation encouraging peaceful applications in space science. The National Aeronautics and Space Act was passed on July 29, 1958, disestablishing NASA's predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The new agency became operational on October 1, 1958.

UFO SIGHTINGS PHOTO PHOTOGRAPHY

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a UFO as "An unidentified flying object; a 'flying saucer'." The first published book to use the word was authored by Donald E. Keyhoe. The acronym "UFO" was coined by Captain Edward J. Ruppelt, who headed Project Blue Book, then the USAF's official investigation of UFOs. He wrote, "Obviously the term 'flying saucer' is misleading when applied to objects of every conceivable shape and performance. For this reason the military prefers the more general, if less colorful, name: unidentified flying objects. UFO (pronounced Yoo-foe) for short." Other phrases that were used officially and that predate the UFO acronym include "flying flapjack", "flying disc", "unexplained flying discs", "unidentifiable object", and "flying saucer". The phrase "flying saucer" had gained widespread attention after the summer of 1947. On June 24, a civilian pilot named Kenneth Arnold reported seeing nine objects flying in formation near Mount Rainier. Arnold timed the sighting and estimated the speed of discs to be over 1,200 mph (1,931 km/h). At the time, he described the objects' shape as being somewhat disc-like or saucer-like, leading to newspaper accounts of "flying saucers" and "flying discs". In popular usage the term UFO came to be used to refer to claims of alien spacecraft. and because of the public and media ridicule associated with the topic, some investigators prefer to use such terms as unidentified aerial phenomenon (or UAP) or anomalous phenomena, as in the title of the National Aviation Reporting Center on Anomalous Phenomena (NARCAP).

UFO PHOTO PHOTOGRAPHY

UFO - Unidentified Flying Object An unidentified flying object, or UFO, in its most general definition, is any apparent anomaly in the sky that is not identifiable as a known object or phenomenon. Culturally, UFOs are associated with claims of visitation by extraterrestrial life or government-related conspiracy theories, and have become popular subjects in fiction. While UFOs are often later identified, sometimes identification may not be possible owing to the usually low quality of evidence related to UFO sightings (generally anecdotal evidence and eyewitness accounts). Stories of fantastical celestial apparitions have been told since antiquity, but the term "UFO" (or "UFOB") was officially created in 1953 by the United States Air Force (USAF) to serve as a catch-all for all such reports. In its initial definition, the USAF stated that a "UFOB" was "any airborne object which by performance, aerodynamic characteristics, or unusual features, does not conform to any presently known aircraft or missile type, or which cannot be positively identified as a familiar object." Accordingly, the term was initially restricted to that fraction of cases which remained unidentified after investigation, as the USAF was interested in potential national security reasons and/or "technical aspects" (see Air Force Regulation 200-2). During the late 1940s and through the 1950s, UFOs were often referred to popularly as "flying saucers" or "flying discs". The term UFO became more widespread during the 1950s, at first in technical literature, but later in popular use. UFOs garnered considerable interest during the Cold War, an era associated with a heightened concern for national security. Various studies have concluded that the phenomenon does not represent a threat to national security nor does it contain anything worthy of scientific pursuit (e.g., 1951 Flying Saucer Working Party, 1953 CIA Robertson Panel, USAF Project Blue Book, Condon Committee).

Photos of Nature | Nature Photography What is The Universe

Photos of Nature | Nature Photography What is The Universe

Tuesday, July 25, 2017