The laser communication system for NASA’s Artemis II mission arrived at the Kennedy Space Center of NASA in Florida to integrate with the Orion spacecraft, which will carry astronauts around the Moon for the first time since the Apollo missions.

On November 16, 2022, NASA launched the Artemis I mission, an uncrewed test flight, which carried the Orion spacecraft further into space than ever before. The next mission, Artemis II, will test all of Orion’s systems needed for manned spaceflight and lay the groundwork for future missions to the lunar surface. The Artemis II mission will also test new and improved technologies, including laser communication capabilities.

Orion’s laser communications terminal is known as the Orion Artemis II optical communications system, or O2O. Laser communication systems, such as O2O, provide missions with increased data rates, meaning they can send and receive more information in a single transmission than traditional radio wave systems, which most NASA missions use today. More data means more discoveries.

“At 260 megabits per second, O2O is capable of sending high-definition 4K video from the Moonsaid Steve Horowitz, O2O project manager. “In addition to video and images, O2O will transmit and receive procedures, images, flight plans and be a link between Orion and the mission control center on Earth.”

After collecting data, O2O will send the information via laser signals to one of them two ground stations in Las Cruces, New Mexico or Table Mountain, California; – both were chosen due to minimal cloud cover. Condition necessary since the quality of images and videos sent from Orion via O2O will depend, in part, on cloud cover at ground stations.

Before its delivery to Kennedy, the O2O laser terminal went through several levels of environmental testing to ensure the payload can function in the harsh environment of space.

Laser communication terminals like O2O will allow more data to reach Earth and support scientists’ efforts to conduct advanced research. The data collected by Artemis II will inform future lunar missions of NASA and will help the agency establish a long-term presence on the Moon and eventually Mars.