The internet is teeming with information and sources of entertainment. As such, a whole world of cat lovers can come together on various platforms, sharing their favorite cat video. The same exists for almost all animals. However, none are seemingly as impressive as the video that NASA just received, except maybe the animals that have admittedly been launched into space.
NASA partnered with JPL on an experiment, and it’s capturing hearts everywhere. Meanwhile, Maxar Technologies in Palo Alto, California, provided the machinery such as the high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft chassis, the “vehicle’s core“, to help make it all possible.
A Cat Video for Science
The cat video shows a Tabby named ‘Tater’ chasing a laser. While it’s not uncommon for cats to chase lasers, there’s something about this video that makes it incredibly unique. The cat video was transmitted from about 19 million miles away and was developed by JPL. The demo cat video was a 15-second test and took less than 2 minutes to reach Earth. The cat video was downloaded from the Hale Telescope at Caltech’s Palomar Observatory, located in San Diego County, California.
Referred to as a flight laser transceiver, it brought something incredible to the public eye. “Despite transmitting from millions of miles away, it was able to send the video faster than most broadband internet connections,” explained Ryan Rogalin, a lead scientist on the project. “In fact, after receiving the video at Palomar, it was sent to JPL over the internet, and that connection was slower than the signal coming from deep space.”
Commenting on the hard work and success of those who came together for this project Rogalin also exclaimed, “JPL’s DesignLab did an amazing job helping us showcase this technology — everyone loves Taters.” The ultra-high-definition cat video has made a historical impact on the seemingly unlimited opportunities of space exploration.
How The Cat Video Impacts the Future
The adorable cat video opens some incredible doors. “This accomplishment underscores our commitment to advancing optical communications as a key element to meeting our future data transmission needs,” explained NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy. “Increasing our bandwidth is essential to achieving our future exploration and science goals, and we look forward to the continued advancement of this technology and the transformation of how we communicate during future interplanetary missions.”
Amazingly, the cat video also shows a number of incredible details. For example, Tater’s heart rate, color, and breed. As well as educational information like Palomar’s telescope dome and the Psyche’s orbital path. The test was conducted as a part of NASA’s Psyche mission, “a journey to a unique metal-rich asteroid orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter” according to NASA’s website.
The cat video demonstration launched the Psyche mission on October 13, with the hopes of transmitting data from “deep space” 10-100 times faster than the “state-of-the-art radio frequency systems used by deep space missions today.” The mission is led by Arizona State University, while JPL is responsible for overall management and system engineering. Furthermore, it is the 14th mission selected as part of NASA’s Discovery Program, managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Having Fun
Most testing has provided scientists with ample data to understand the universe better. With so much data and information involved, some may wonder why a cat video? Perhaps it’s because even scientists want to have a little fun after endless equations and data comparisons. “One of the goals is to demonstrate the ability to transmit broadband video across millions of miles. Nothing on Psyche generates video data. So, we usually send packets of randomly generated test data,” said Bill Klipstein, DSOC project manager at JPL. “But to make this significant event more memorable, we decided to work with designers at JPL to create a fun video, which captures the essence of the demo as part of the Psyche mission.”
Meanwhile, the project flight operations lead for JPL, Ken Andrews, explained that this exciting new technology also required some extra diligence in the earliest phases. “When we achieved first light (the use of new technology), we were excited, but also cautious. This is a new technology, and we are experimenting with how it works,” said Ken. “But now, with the help of our Psyche colleagues, we are getting used to working with the system and can lock onto the spacecraft and ground terminals for longer than we could previously. We are learning something new during each checkout.”
For many, science and its many accomplishments are incredibly enthralling. Meanwhile, others are less enthused or even downright bored- after all, there are a lot of numbers and data to track. Either way, scientific breakthroughs like this, which capture the public with an adorable cat video, are bound to have an impact on all of our lives, and it’ll be interesting to see what secrets or lifeforms may exist in “deep space.”