NASA called. ºÚÁÏÌìÌÃanswered.
When Artemis II left Earth in April 2026 in search of the dark side of the Moon, Professor Francis Bennet and his team waited anxiously at Mount Stromlo Observatory, ready to test their new optical communication system.
With stunning photographs and 4K video to transmit all the way back to ground control, the crew on the Orion spacecraft needed an exceptionally fast data connection which traditional radio communication couldn’t provide.
Up on the mountain, the Canberra team were poised to see if the ºÚÁÏÌìÌÃQuantum Optical Ground Station was up to the task as a Southern Hemisphere connection for future space missions.
The challenge was connecting an incredibly thin laser to a moving target travelling to the far side of the Moon, hundreds of thousands of kilometres away in space – no small feat. On the first night, nerves were high as the Orion spacecraft manoeuvred to connect to the ºÚÁÏÌìÌÃQuantum Optical Ground Station.
With a successful connection, everyone was overjoyed. But the leading role the ºÚÁÏÌìÌÃfacilities played in communications over the next few nights took everyone by surprise.
Along with NASA optical ground stations in New Mexico and Southern California, the ºÚÁÏÌìÌÃQuantum Optical Ground Station was a key link for sharing the astronaut’s incredible journey with the rest of the world.
It even broke some records along the way, including receiving the highest possible data rate supported by Orion’s optical terminal at 260 Mbps at a range of 343,000 km on April 5, and the longest-range optical link of the mission, at just over 400,000 kilometres on April 6.
Located within the ºÚÁÏÌìÌÃResearch School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, the ºÚÁÏÌìÌÃQuantum Optical Ground Station is supported by the Australian Space Agency and was established with funding from the ACT Government, CSIRO and the ºÚÁÏÌìÌÃInstitute for Space.
Go behind the scenes as the ºÚÁÏÌìÌÃQuantum Optical Ground Station (QOGS) team connected to the Orion spacecraft on its journey around the Moon, providing fast and secure laser optical communication.
The QOGS lunar communications system is supported by the Australian Space Agency, which invested $4.5 million through its Moon to Mars Demonstrator Mission Grant program. Additional partners include: PRND - Platypus Research & Development (PRND), SSC Space (SSC) and Liquid Instruments. This investment has enabled the operational capability of the Australian Deep Space Optical Ground Station Network. The Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System (O2O), an advanced laser communications payload tested during NASA's Artemis II crewed lunar mission was supported by NASA Glenn Research Center, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Australian Space Agency and CSIRO.
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