NASA to show off space lasers, enabling faster transfer of data between Earth and space

NASA is planning to unveil a new laser communications system next month that will allow data to be transmitted between Earth and space at an accelerated rate. 

Slated for launch on June 23, NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstrations (LCRD) replaces radio frequency communications, which NASA has used since the beginning of spaceflight in the 1950s.  Missions to space have frequently required capturing high-definition data like 4K video. With radiofrequency systems, it would take roughly nine weeks to transmit a complete map of Mars back to Earth; with laser, it would take about nine days, according to NASA.