Scientists from NASA and MIT have managed to get a download speed of 19.44Mbps through a laser-powered communication uplink, which is better than the average broadband speed achieved by UK households.
According to Ofcom, the average broadband speed in the UK is 17.8Mbps, with rural areas averaging just 11.3Mbps, notably slower than the connection to the moon, which is 284,633km from its nearest exchange on Earth.
Wired reports that to create the connection, the scientists used four telescopes based at a ground terminal in New Mexico to send the signal to the moon, with a laser transmitter sending the information as coded pulses of infrared light into each of the telescopes, resulting in 40 watts of transmitter power.
The experiment, detailed by the Optical Society, could have implications for improving communications links between Earth and its satellite, with the possibility of streaming audio and high definition video.
