DistantNews
Support us
🇪🇬 Egypt /Technology

China tests high-speed laser communications link between Earth and Moon

From Al-Masry Al-Youm · () Arabic

Translated from Arabic and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement Outcome reported
  • Chinese researchers established a two-way laser communications link across more than 400,000 kilometers between Earth and the Moon after more than a year of orbital testing.
  • The test expands China’s space-laser communications capabilities from near-Earth orbit into deep space.
  • Researchers identified beam alignment, weak signals and data-transfer speed as the main challenges for Earth-Moon laser communications.

Chinese researchers have successfully tested laser communications between Earth and the Moon, opening a path for high-speed, two-way links across more than 400,000 kilometers.

The Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Center for Space Utilization Technology and Engineering said the team verified two-way laser communication in orbit after more than a year of testing. The achievement extends China’s space-laser communications work from near-Earth orbit into deep space.

Laser communications offer higher speeds, wider bandwidth, stronger security and smaller, lighter equipment than conventional systems. But an Earth-Moon link must overcome three major obstacles: aligning the laser beam, dealing with weak signals and maintaining fast data transmission.

Yang Li, a researcher at the center and head of the laser communications test team, compared the task to “passing a thread through a needle from a thousand miles away.” He said even slight satellite vibrations or atmospheric disturbances on Earth could deflect the beam. A very small angular deviation could cause the laser to miss its target by kilometers by the time it reaches the Moon.

Passing a thread through a needle from a thousand miles away.

· Yang LiThe researcher used the comparison to describe the precision required for laser communication between Earth and the Moon.
About this summary

Originally published by Al-Masry Al-Youm in Arabic. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog