How do we communicate with spacecraft?
We communicate with spacecraft in a lot of different ways.
We have a network of antennas all over the world across all seven continents, along with satellites in space that help transmit these radio waves.
Astronauts, mission controllers and scientists rely on this network to transmit messages and commands
and receive data such as never before seen images of our solar system and universe.
Spacecraft in orbit can only communicate directly to ground stations on Earth if the satellite has a clear view of the ground station, which typically only occurs for a short period of time.
The tracking and data relay satellites, or TDRS, are a fleet of specialized communications
satellites in geosynchronous orbit. These satellites relay data from other spacecraft to ground stations, allowing NASA to provide near-continuous global communications coverage to missions in low-Earth orbit.
NASA is also developing ways to communicate with invisible infrared lasers.
Laser communications offers missions higher data rates than ever before, allowing us to transmit more data at once.
One mission doing that now is the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration or LCRD. LCRD will work with the International Space Station, allowing more science and exploration data so we can continue making discoveries about our planet.
We also have a demonstration called TBIRD, which is testing laser communications with huge bursts of data from a small satellite in low-Earth orbit.
And in the future, NASA plans to use laser communications when humans return to the Moon with Artemis.
So how do we communicate with spacecraft? Mostly via radio waves between space and ground. But NASA is pushing the boundaries with laser communications to be able to receive more data from further than ever before. Explore the future of space communications: nasa.gov/lasercomms
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