CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The optical and quantum communications group at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory’s years of work came to life during NASA’s Artemis II mission — bringing us real-time images of our world.
Group leader Bryan Robinson said their O2O communication system with technology on the spacecraft and across the world allowed for 100-times faster communication during the mission than ever before.
He and his team just returned from NASA headquarters in Houston.
“It was definitely a career highlight to see it all work,” he told Boston 25 Wednesday. “It’s been a long run, a lot of challenges along the way.”
Their Massachusetts-made technology was first pitched to NASA by his team in 2013.
Four years later, they were developing the laser technology that enhances communication and data sharing at their Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington.
Robinson continued, “It allows delivery of large volumes of data in very short amounts of time... Send lots and lots of real time video. They can take many high-resolution images and send those back.”
Telescopes on the Artemis II spacecraft were able to link using lasers with ground terminals in Southern California, New Mexico, and Australia to maintain constant communication.
Pictures from outer space during the journey around the moon were able to be sent back to Earth in real time, and faster than ever.
Robinson explained, “The telescope points the laser back to the Earth to establish communications link.”
At headquarters in NASA, their team and MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory team were able to watch as the system survived launch and powered on eight hours later.
MIT Lincoln Lab staff associate Cathy DeVoe remembered, “We were all so excited.”
Her colleague Olga Mikulila added, “We knew it would be working. But still, until you see it’s working, it’s a little bit worrisome.”
The laser communication was used in place of radio communications.
Around the clock, Robinson’s small team from Boston monitored their system while NASA operated the mission.
Fresh off the trip to Texas, Robinson finished, “It was almost as exciting coming home and talking to my neighbors, to my friends, and hearing from them how much they were impacted by watching the mission... Just to have had a part in that is a great blessing.”
The team claimed they are already working with NASA and brainstorming new technology for their next mission.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2026 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/7QOJU3BNCJERBNKJC5LWTBYFLU.png)
