Taters the cat stars in the first video sent by laser from deep space by NASA

2023-12-20 11:46:04

Updated Wednesday, December 20, 2023 – 10:46

NASA wants to improve communications from deep space, especially as astronauts prepare to return to the Moon with their sights set on Mars.

A cat stars in the first video sent by laser from deep space to EarthNASA

An orange tabby cat called Taters stars in the first video transmitted by laser from deep space by NASA. The 15-second video was transmitted to Earth from the Psyche spaceship of the Space Agency, 30 million kilometers (19 million miles) away. The ultra high definition video took less than two minutes to reach the Caltech’s Palomar Observatorysent at the test system’s maximum speed of 267 megabits per second.

The video was uploaded to Psyche’s laser communication experiment before the spacecraft blasted off toward a rare metal asteroid in October. The mission team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Californiadecided to use an employee’s playful 3-year-old kitten.

The video was transmitted to Earth on December 11 and published by NASA this week. “Despite the great distance, the test transmitted video faster than most broadband Internet connections here on Earth,” he said. Ryan Rogalinone of the members of the project.

NASA wants to improve communications from deep space, especially as astronauts prepare to return to Earth. Luna with an eye on Marte. The laser demonstration is intended to transmit data at speeds up to 100 times faster than radio systems currently used by spacecraft far from Earth.

More test transmissions are planned as Psyche heads toward the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. But Taters will not make any more appearances.

Joby Harris, art director of DesignLab, couldn’t be prouder, but he doesn’t want his cat’s newfound fame to go to his head. “I’m celebrating his prominence with him, but making sure he keeps his paws on the mat,” Harris said.