NASA’s Artemis II moon mission shows space-to-Earth laser comms can scale
Summarize this article with:
Earlier this month, NASA’s Artemis II mission sent four astronauts to orbit the moon and used new laser communications systems to beam dramatic images back to Earth. One of the receivers, though, wasn’t hosted by the U.S. space agency. A low-cost terminal built by the companies Observable Space and Quantum Opus, and operated by the Australian National University, pulled down data broadcast from a spacecraft at the moon at a rate of 260 megabits per second. That success proves that high-throughput connections between Earth and space can be done on the cheap, the companies say. The terminal used Observable Space’s software and telescope to capture and lock onto the transmissions from the Orion spacecraft, and a photonic sensor built by Quantum Opus to decode the data. Their terminal cost less than $5 million, compared to more bespoke solutions that cost tens of millions of dollars. NASA has been testing deep space laser communications for several years, including a demonstration of data links with a spacecraft 218 million miles from Earth on its way to an asteroid. Artemis II was its most comprehensive demonstration yet: NASA’s primary receivers in California and New Mexico, as well as the low-cost experimental terminal in Australia, all collected 4K video from the trip around the moon. Though laser communications boast much higher throughput than radio frequency transmissions that remain the primary communications option for space, lasers are more vulnerable to disruptions from cloudy weather, and they must be within line of site of their target — hence the importance of having a reception site on the other side of the world from the U.S. Josh Cassada, a former U.S. astronaut who co-founded Quantum Opus, pointed out that Australia was the first continent to appear in the first Earthrise photo captured by the Artemis II astronauts. Techcrunch event Meet your next investor or portfolio startup at Disrupt Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register now to save up to $410. Meet your next investor or portfolio startup at Disrupt Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where 10,000+ founders, investors, and tech leaders gather for three days of 250+ tactical sessions, powerful introductions, and market-defining innovation. Register now to save up to $410. San Francisco, CA | October 13-15, 2026 REGISTER NOW Observable Space CEO Dan Roelker said the mission proves that space-to-Earth laser downlinks are ready to scale. Already in wide use for satellite-to-satellite connections, the technology hasn’t previously been used to transmit back to Earth because of the cost, but now he envisions a global network of these terminals to receive data sent from satellites of all kinds. “We can scale this over the next year or more,” Roelker told TechCrunch, though he said the company isn’t ready to reveal its full strategy yet. “We will partner with a lot of people around this,” he said, “whether this is something we’re going to do ourselves, or partner with other ground station-as-a-service companies, or work with extremely large constellation providers that are going to want to own their own infrastructure.” Topics artemis ii, Exclusive, NASA, observable space, Space When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
Tim Fernholz Senior Reporter Tim Fernholz is a journalist who writes about technology, finance and public policy. He has closely covered the rise of the private space industry and is the author of Rocket Billionaires: Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and the New Space Race. Formerly, he was a senior reporter at Quartz, the global business news site, for more than a decade, and began his career as a political reporter in Washington, D.C. You can contact or verify outreach from Tim by emailing tim.fernholz@techcrunch.com or via an encrypted message to tim_fernholz.21 on Signal.
View Bio April 30 San Francisco, CA StrictlyVC kicks off the year in SF. Get in the room for unfiltered fireside chats with industry leaders, insider VC insights, and high-value connections that actually move the needle. Tickets are limited. REGISTER NOW Most Popular Unauthorized group has gained access to Anthropic’s exclusive cyber tool Mythos, report claims Lucas Ropek Tim Cook stepping down as Apple CEO, John Ternus taking over Amanda Silberling Connie Loizos Blue Origin’s New Glenn put a customer satellite in the wrong orbit during its third launch Sean O'Kane Palantir posts mini-manifesto denouncing inclusivity and ‘regressive’ cultures Anthony Ha ‘Tokenmaxxing’ is making developers less productive than they think Tim Fernholz Anthropic launches Claude Design, a new product for creating quick visuals Aisha Malik Anthropic CPO leaves Figma’s board after reports he will offer a competing product Tim Fernholz