• Michal@programming.dev
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    11 months ago

    Using a laser they could just as well send the cat. He would follow the laser just as well.

  • TWeaK@lemm.ee
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    11 months ago

    Bit annoying that they’re more specific about latency than bandwidth. The laser had lower latency than broadband, but I want to know if the laser had enough bandwidth to stream the video.

    • Eager Eagle@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      This latest milestone comes after “first light” was achieved on Nov. 14. Since then, the system has demonstrated faster data downlink speeds and increased pointing accuracy during its weekly checkouts. On the night of Dec. 4, the project demonstrated downlink bit rates of 62.5 Mbps, 100 Mbps, and 267 Mbps, which is comparable to broadband internet download speeds. The team was able to download a total of 1.3 terabits of data during that time. As a comparison, NASA’s Magellan mission to Venus downlinked 1.2 terabits during its entire mission from 1990 to 1994.

      https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/stmd/tech-demo-missions-program/deep-space-optical-communications-dsoc/nasas-tech-demo-streams-first-video-from-deep-space-via-laser/

      • ButtDrugs@lemm.ee
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        11 months ago

        Honestly the 1.2 TB I’m the early 90s is an insanely impressive figure to me. I mean in that era a gigabyte seemed like an obscene amount of data, the interat ran at less than 56 kbps, and I don’t think I had a 1GB drive in my hime PC until almost the turn of the millennium. Sending and storing that much from venus is a huge accomplishment.

        • Kitty Jynx@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          They probably stored it on tape which was slow but could hold an impressive amount of data.

          I remember my first multi gig hard drive. I was blown away that I could fully install Diablo 2, Fallout 2, and a cracked version of 3d Studio Max at the same time. No more changing disks!

    • ripcord@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Lower latency than broadband…?

      If you’re getting >100s ping times you might want to have them come out to check your lines.

      • Alto@kbin.social
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        11 months ago

        Something tells me you’re not getting sub 100ms latency with broadband over 19 million miles

        • ripcord@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          I mean, if their point was that a straight-shot laser had lower point-to-point latency than a system with a bunch of non-direct links, intermediate switches, routers, mix of copper and fiber, etc… Well, no kidding.

          Didn’t say anything about 100ms though. I was guessing maybe they read 100ms though. Still not sure what the point was.

    • neptune@dmv.social
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      11 months ago

      "The video was then downloaded and each frame was sent to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, where it was played in real time. "

      It sounds like it. Laser comm can have some insanely high data rates due to the high frequency of the radiation.

  • Rapidcreek@lemmy.worldOP
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    11 months ago

    What strikes me is not the bandwidth achieved but the precision of the technology to aim the laser. 19 million miles is a great distance to successfully aim a beam of light. As this technology develops, real time communications with objects in orbit like around Mars will be possible.

  • dhork@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    Despite transmitting from millions of miles away, it was able to send the video faster than most broadband internet connections

    That guy must be a Spectrum subscriber

    • paddirn@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Can’t wait til we can start watching interplanetary wars play out in real time.

      • baltakatei@sopuli.xyz
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        11 months ago

        Can we have space settlement without the war and genocide? It’s not like killing Indians and robbing trains is a fundamental requirement.

        • circuscritic@lemmy.ca
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          11 months ago

          That depends on if space is colonized by homo sapiens, or by an evolved form of ants, who rise up millions of years after humans have gone extinct.

          The civilization that evolved from ants possibly could.

          Humans? Doubtful.

          • Sconrad122@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            You are giving ants way too much credit. Those fuckers are brutal war criminals, the lot of them. Humans are bad, but we’ve had nukes for almost 80 years without glassing ourselves, ants wouldn’t last a day

            • circuscritic@lemmy.ca
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              11 months ago

              No, because I’m assuming that one colony will wipe out the rest and earth will be ruled by the hereditary line of matriarchs of whatever the queen ant evolves into.

              They’ll probably enslave and brutalize all other species on the planet, but they’ll rule earth as a single unified colony, and space as an extension of that.

            • Promethiel@lemmy.world
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              11 months ago

              They need to be harnessed into biological CPUs by hyper-advanced dog sized jumping spiders. It’s the only use for those murderous six legged maniacs.

  • whoisearth@lemmy.ca
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    11 months ago

    Somewhere on my work wiki is a picture of puppies that I sent over SWIFT to a bank to test that the relationship was setup properly.

    Cats and dogs are always acceptable test messages

  • Evil_Shrubbery@lemm.ee
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    11 months ago
    1. This is the correct use of technology. (But later let’s test the ping on Doom over laserlan)

    2. Taters is very precious!!

    • Promethiel@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Joke answer: It’s cute.

      Real answer: It’s cute and because of that broad appeal it’s easy good PR. NASA has to appeal to the populace to hope they demand their Representatives properly fund them.