Astronauts could soon livestream from space with new technology. How NASA is doing it
.png "NASA uses laser communications to livestream videos from Earth to space.")
Scientists at NASA are using new technology to test a system that would allow astronauts to livestream from space.
On July 30, NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, tested a laser communications networking system, according to a news release.
The system “could enable the public to watch live video coverage of astronauts on the moon in HD during the Artemis missions,” the release said.
Researchers flew over Lake Erie in NASA’s Pilatus PC-12 aircraft. They then filmed researchers on the ground communicating with the team in the air using “high-rate delay tolerant networking,” according to the release.
“The data is transferred over laser communications links at a rate of 1.2 gigabits per second — faster than most home internet speeds,” NASA officials said.
A July 24 news release detailed how NASA recently livestreamed a 4K video from an aircraft to the International Space Station and back using laser communications.
“Glenn engineers temporarily installed a portable laser terminal on the belly of a Pilatus PC-12 aircraft. They then flew over Lake Erie sending data from the aircraft to an optical ground station in Cleveland. From there, it was sent over an Earth-based network to NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where scientists used infrared light signals to send the data,” the release said.
The signals traveled 22,000 miles from Earth to an orbiting experimental platform and back.
“These experiments are a tremendous accomplishment,” Dr. Daniel Raible, principal investigator for the HDTN project at Glenn, said. “We can now build upon the success of streaming 4K HD videos to and from the space station to provide future capabilities, like HD videoconferencing, for our Artemis astronauts, which will be important for crew health and activity coordination.”
NASA officials said the goal is to continue working to develop technology needed “to stream humanity’s return” to the moon.
This story was originally published July 31, 2024 at 9:53 AM with the headline "Astronauts could soon livestream from space with new technology. How NASA is doing it."
