1
00:00:06,090 --> 00:00:03,060
Projector Sound

2
00:00:06,110 --> 00:00:09,120
Beep

3
00:00:09,140 --> 00:00:12,130
On December 24, 1968, Apollo 8 captured

4
00:00:12,150 --> 00:00:15,190
the historic photo known as “Earthrise”.

5
00:00:15,210 --> 00:00:18,270
However, it would take several days for the rest of the world to

6
00:00:18,290 --> 00:00:21,440
see this awe-inspiring image.

7
00:00:21,460 --> 00:00:24,500
Today, NASA has the capability to send hundreds of

8
00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:27,640
“earthrise” like photos from the moon every second using lasers.

9
00:00:27,660 --> 00:00:30,690
The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment

10
00:00:30,710 --> 00:00:33,820
Explorer, or LADEE, will

11
00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:36,870
investigate the Moon’s fragile atmosphere to enhance our knowledge of

12
00:00:36,890 --> 00:00:39,990
Earth’s nearest neighbor.

13
00:00:40,010 --> 00:00:43,030
LLCD, the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration, will hitch

14
00:00:43,050 --> 00:00:46,070
a ride aboard LADEE to lunar orbit.

15
00:00:46,090 --> 00:00:49,240
Using a small and lightweight telescope, LLCD will

16
00:00:49,260 --> 00:00:52,320
transmit hundreds of millions of laser pulses each second to

17
00:00:52,340 --> 00:00:55,380
one of three stations on the Earth….. Each of which was chosen

18
00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:58,430
for it’s cloud-free skies.

19
00:00:58,450 --> 00:01:01,510
To begin data transmission, the space and ground terminals

20
00:01:01,530 --> 00:01:04,530
must first locate each other. This process begins

21
00:01:04,550 --> 00:01:07,590
when the ground terminal scans LADEE’s path to

22
00:01:07,610 --> 00:01:10,690
illuminate the spacecraft. LLCD senses the flash

23
00:01:10,710 --> 00:01:13,730
from the ground and points its beam back to the source.

24
00:01:13,750 --> 00:01:16,830
The ground terminal acquires the beam from

25
00:01:16,850 --> 00:01:19,870
space and establishes a communication link.

26
00:01:19,890 --> 00:01:22,970
With contact established and alignment locked,

27
00:01:22,990 --> 00:01:26,000
hundreds of millions of data bits begin to flow between the two

28
00:01:26,020 --> 00:01:29,080
terminals every second.

29
00:01:29,100 --> 00:01:32,100
Music

30
00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:35,150
Back on Earth, the ground terminal receives the laser pulses through an array

31
00:01:35,170 --> 00:01:38,270
of telescopes that focus the weak signals onto

32
00:01:38,290 --> 00:01:41,290
ultra-sensitive detectors. These detectors count the

33
00:01:41,310 --> 00:01:44,350
individual signal photons from the terminal at the Moon,

34
00:01:44,370 --> 00:01:47,370
and turn them into data bits at revolutionary download speeds.

35
00:01:47,390 --> 00:01:50,460
In the future NASA could download finer

36
00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:53,470
images, hundreds of 3-D HD video

37
00:01:53,490 --> 00:01:56,550
streams, and could even one day enable “telepresence”

38
00:01:56,570 --> 00:01:59,730
at the Moon and beyond for human explorers still on Earth.

39
00:01:59,750 --> 00:02:02,770
Together LLCD and LADEE

40
00:02:02,790 --> 00:02:05,930
will take the next step in expanding

41
00:02:05,950 --> 00:02:08,990
NASA’s space communication capabilities while renewing

42
00:02:09,010 --> 00:02:12,140
our sense of discovery about the Moon and the universe.

43
00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:15,190
Music

44
00:02:15,210 --> 00:02:18,320
Beep