As NASA prepares to return humans to the Moon in the Artemis program, Lincoln Laboratory enabled the first-ever laser communication link for a crewed deep-space flight. The Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System, developed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory in collaboration with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, successfully used lasers to transmit high-definition video back to Earth as the Artemis II astronauts executed their lunar flyby. This work builds on decades of innovation at Lincoln Laboratory in lasers, sensors, and communications systems.

Our recent work in laser technology spans applications from high-resolution 3D imaging ladar systems used for large-area terrain mapping and disaster response, to advanced laser communication systems enabling resilient, high-bandwidth links, to high-energy laser architectures employing coherent beam combining to achieve record levels of brightness and beam quality. We also develop beam-control approaches to enable la...