NASA has sent a video of a cat to Earth using a laser from deep space, Space.com reports.
In the ultra-high resolution video, you can see Tatters, a ginger cat, running after the dot of a laser pointer.
The video was sent as part of the Deep Space Optical Communications (DSOC) experiment. DSOC technology allows data to be transmitted 10-100 times faster than traditional radio wave systems, which is used by NASA in other missions.
The experiment took place aboard NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, which is heading for the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
The instrument, developed by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and known as a flight laser receiver, transmitted video in near-infrared laser light to the Hale telescope at the Palomar Observatory of the California Institute of Technology from a distance of nearly 31 million kilometers.
The signal reached the Earth in 101 seconds at a speed of 267 Mbps. For comparison, according to Speedtest.net, the average broadband speed in the US is approximately 219 Mbps, and in the UK it is almost 92 Mbps.
To make this important event more memorable, we decided to work with designers from JPL to create a fun video.
NASA representative Bill Kipstein
