The transmitted laser light, traveling over 200 million miles, presents a challenge in extracting information from faint signals, requiring novel signal-processing techniques.
However, the project faces the additional challenge of compensating for the increasing lag in data transmission as the distance between Psyche and Earth grows, potentially resulting in a lag of up to tens of minutes. The dynamic positions of Earth and the spacecraft need to be constantly accounted for.
Although hosted by the Psyche spacecraft, DSOC’s success will be evaluated independently of the Psyche mission. The technology demonstration will span nearly two years after the spacecraft’s launch, all the way to its Mars flyby in 2026.
With the increasing complexity of science data, images, and video expected from deep space missions, NASA hopes to advance technologies like DSOC for eventual routine use by future spacecraft and ground systems.
NASA is setting its sights to support humanity’s next giant leap – sending astronauts to Mars – by expanding the possibilities of broadband communications in space. Moreover, the Psyche mission’s journey to a unique metal-rich asteroid in hopes to expose the nickel-iron core of an early planet, one of the building blocks of our solar system.
