NASA’s first-ever “integrated-photonics” modem will be tested aboard the International Space Station beginning in 2020 as part of Nasa’s multi-year Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD).

The cell phone-sized device incorporates optics-based functions such as lasers, switches and wires onto a microchip, much like an integrated circuit found in all electronics hardware. Who knows, the cell phone-sized device might have been made with the help of firms like ProEx. (Note: Firms like ProEx–https://www.proex1.com/— are known to provide value-added services focused on IC programming to several industries like automotive, medical, telecommunications) Anyway, coming back to the topic, once aboard the ISS, the so-called Integrated LCRD LEO (Low-Earth Orbit) User Modem and Amplifier (ILLUMA) will serve as a low-Earth orbit terminal for Nasa’s LCRD, demonstrating yet another capability for high-speed, laser-based communications.

ILLUMA incorporates an emerging technology integrated photonics that is expected to transform any technology that employs light. This includes everything from internet communications over fibre optic cable to spectrometers, chemical detectors and surveillance systems, to name just a few.

LCRD promises to transform the way Nasa sends and receives data, video and other information. It will use lasers to encode and transmit data at rates 10 to 100 times faster than today’s communications equipment, requiring significantly less mass and power. Such a leap in technology can deliver video and high-resolution measurements from spacecraft over planets across the solar system — permitting researchers to make detailed studies of conditions on other worlds.