Student and Educators
Connect with Laser Communications!
NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) will showcase the advantages of communicating information using infrared lasers! This is known as laser communications.
Share your excitement about this new way of communicating with satellites by using these student and family resources.
Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD)
The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) aims to showcase the unique capabilities of optical communications.
Learn More about Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD)
Print and Post
Follow along with LCRD using these products to spark interest.
- LCRD Coloring Sheets English | Spanish
- LCRD Bookmark English | Spanish
- LCRD Poster English | Spanish
- LCRD Fact Sheet English | Spanish
Teach others about Laser Communications
Share your new-found knowledge about LCRD with others using the Overview of LCRD presentation.
View the LCRD Presentation about Teach others about Laser Communications
LCRD STEM Activities
Learn more about LCRD with these STEM activities for students, ranging from K-12. The activities cover topics, including laser links, packing a rocket, geometry, measurement, conversions, and irradiance. Download the activities and answer sheets below:
- Laser Links (Grades K-3) Activity | Answers
- Packing a Rocket (Grades K-3) Activity | Answers
- Measurement and Conversions (Grades 3-6) Activity | Answers
- Geometry of Circles (Grades 9-10) Activity | Answers
- Irradiance (Grades 10-12) Activity | Answers
Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) Overview
LCRD will continue NASA’s exploration of laser communications to support future missions to the Moon and beyond.
Laser communications will enable better data rates, making possible new capabilities such as 4K ultra-high-definition streaming from beyond Earth orbit. It will also allow communications systems to become smaller, lighter, and more efficient. LCRD will demonstrate the technology over several years before laser communications becomes operational for future NASA missions.
Watch the Video
LCRD’s Optical Ground Stations
Space communications infrastructure in space and on the ground enables the data collected by missions to reach Earth, upgrading our capacity for discovery.
Since the dawn of space exploration, NASA missions have relied on radio frequencies for this transfer of information. NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) will launch to space, showcasing the vast benefits of laser communications. LCRD’s ground stations, known as Optical Ground Station -1 and -2, are critical to the mission’s success.
Watch the Video
LCRD: Lighting the Way
LCRD is NASA’s first two-way, end-to-end optical relay.
Later in its mission, LCRD will relay data between the International Space Station and the ground. This will be the first operational use of laser communications at NASA.
See Animations
Tour the LCRD Labs
Tour of the LCRD Cleanroom and Modem Lab
Take a virtual tour of LCRD’s ground and flight modems lab and the optical modules cleanroom at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
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