Laser experiment aboard Psyche streams video to Earth from 31 million km

NASA/Psyche

NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications experiment, riding on Psyche, sent an ultra-high-definition video by laser from about 31 million km, some 80 times the Earth-Moon distance. Laser links can carry far more data than radio, which future crewed missions will need.

• Sent at 267 megabits per second, the system's maximum rate.
• The signal took 101 seconds to reach Earth.
• Received by the Hale Telescope at Palomar Observatory, California.