NASA Laser Terminal Enhances Views During Artemis II Mission
NASA's Artemis II mission showcased the use of a laser communications terminal, enhancing the public's viewing experience of the lunar journey. This optical system allowed for the transmission of high-definition data, surpassing traditional radio frequency capabilities. The mission successfully exchanged 484 gigabytes of data, significantly improving communication and data transfer rates.
- ▪The Artemis II mission featured a laser communications system that transmitted data using invisible infrared light.
- ▪During the mission, the optical terminal exchanged 484 gigabytes of data, equivalent to about 100 high-definition movies.
- ▪The system established multiple downlinks at 260 megabits per second, significantly exceeding traditional radio frequency data rates.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
4 min readNASA Laser Terminal Enhances Views During Artemis II MissionKendall MurphyCommunications SpecialistApr 28, 2026 Article Millions of people watched the historic launch of Artemis II and were captivated by the mission’s 10-day journey around the Moon as NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen ventured farther into space than any human before. Part of the public’s ability to experience the mission in high-definition was due to laser communications. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video An animation depicting the Orion capsule using infrared light. Although infrared light is shown here, it is actually invisible to the human eye.
…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at NASA.
