Broadband on the Moon

High-speed communications to the moon, Mars, and beyond could be as easy as turning on a laser, according to the results of NASA's 30-day Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD). Carried to lunar orbit aboard the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE), the LLCD demonstrated upload speeds of 22 Mb/s and download speeds of 622 Mb/s. Equally as important, the system achieved error-free operations under adverse conditions, such as when the moon was less than four degrees from the horizon or less than three degrees from the sun as seen from a ground station. It also operated successfully even in the presence of atmospheric turbulence and thin cloud cover.