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3 clusters · 14 sources · 9 days · First seen 14 days ago · Last updated 6 days ago

China Earth-Moon laser communication testing

Overview

Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have successfully completed a year-long test of a bidirectional high-speed laser communication link between Earth and the Moon. Spanning approximately 400,000 kilometers, the experiment utilized telescopes in Yunnan province and an experimental satellite to achieve a downlink transmission speed of 100 Mbit/s and an uplink speed of 1.25 Mbit/s.

This achievement makes China the second nation, following the United States, to demonstrate two-way lunar laser communication. While the technology provides advantages over traditional microwave communication—such as higher bandwidth, enhanced security, and more compact hardware—the data rates achieved were lower than NASA’s 2013 lunar laser demonstration, which recorded download speeds of 622 Mbps and upload speeds of 20 Mbps.

To maintain the link, the team had to overcome significant technical hurdles including beam alignment, signal attenuation, and atmospheric interference. Yang Lei, the head of the research team, compared the difficulty of maintaining the beam over such distances to “threading a needle at a distance of a thousand kilometers,” noting that even microscopic vibrations can cause the beam to miss its target by hundreds of kilometers.

Entities

Chinese Academy of Sciences · China · United States · Yang Lei · Space Application Engineering and Technology Center

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[● 3 SOURCES] presented a study on how warfare could extend to cislunar space. www.notitarde.com.ve · diario-octubre.com · actualidad.rt.com
[● 2 SOURCES] established a bidirectional laser communication link over 400,000 kilometers. www.20minutos.es · www.elperiodico.digital
[● 2 SOURCES] observed a Chinese unmanned spacecraft releasing a small satellite that maneuvered around another Chinese satellite. www.novarepublika.cz · www.noticias24hrs.com.ve
[○ 1 SOURCE] warned that disrupting US space capabilities could paralyze military operations on Earth. www.novarepublika.cz
[○ 1 SOURCE] opposed the militarization of outer space and accused Washington of promoting an arms race. www.noticias24hrs.com.ve

Timeline

6 days ago

[TECHNOLOGY] 7 sources
China advances cislunar technology and satellite maneuvering capabilities
China has achieved a 400,000 km bidirectional laser communication milestone and is testing satellite maneuvering capabilities, raising concerns regarding the potential militarization of cislunar space.
10 days ago

[TECHNOLOGY] 2 sources
China completes year-long Earth-Moon bidirectional laser communication test
China has successfully completed over a year of testing for bidirectional Earth-Moon laser communication, achieving downlink speeds of 100 Mbps, making it the second nation to perform such a feat.
14 days ago

[TECHNOLOGY] 5 sources
Chinese Academy of Sciences completes Earth-Moon laser communication test
China has successfully tested a two-way high-speed laser communication link between Earth and the Moon, spanning over 400,000 km to support future lunar research and crewed missions.

Sources

actualidad.rt.com · az.trend.az · chinesepress.com · diario-octubre.com · noticias24hrs.com.ve · noticiasdemalaga.es · notitarde.com.ve · novarepublika.cz · ordu.az · revistaforum.com.br · scmp.com · time.news · wwwhatsnew.com · zdrowymagazyn.pl