One year ago today, the future of space communications arrived at Earth as a beam of light from a NASA…

As NASA continues to innovate for the benefit of humanity, agency inventions that use new structures to harness sunlight for…

NASA’s LCOT (Low-Cost Optical Terminal), a ground station made of modified commercial hardware, transmitted its first laser communications uplink to…

The Deep Space Optical Communications tech demo has completed several key milestones, culminating in sending a signal to Mars’ farthest…

NASA’s TBIRD (TeraByte InfraRed Delivery) demonstration and its host spacecraft — the PTD-3 (Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator-3) — have completed their…

A team at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland streamed 4K video footage from an aircraft to the International Space…

Using NASA’s first two-way, end-to-end laser relay system, pictures and videos of cherished pets flew through space over laser communications…

By Daniel Boyette Advanced space nuclear propulsion systems are critical to NASA’s Moon to Mars vision. On May 15, one…

NASA’s Deep Space Optical Communications experiment also interfaced with the Psyche spacecraft’s communication system for the first time, transmitting engineering…

By Daniel Boyette Jeremy Kenny squinted his eyes as he looked toward the brilliant light. Then came the deafening sound…

As part of NASA’s Artemis campaign to return humans to the Moon for the benefit of all, the agency is…

By Wayne Smith In his youth, NASA technologist Les Johnson was riveted by the 1974 novel “The Mote in God’s…

Capable of receiving both radio frequency and optical signals, the DSN’s hybrid antenna has tracked and decoded the downlink laser…

Editor’s note, Feb. 6, 2024: This article has been updated to clarify that the Radio Frequency Mass Gauge estimates how much…

NASA is wrapping up the initial phase of its Fission Surface Power Project, which focused on developing concept designs for a…