NASA Experiments Deep Space Communication With X Rays

The International Space Station (also called ISS) is not going to make a common call. The next ISS call will be more special. This new call will be using X-ray. NASA has developed a new communication system. This is known as XCOM and is a communication system which uses X-rays.

This system can become one of the most advanced communication systems between earth and spacecraft. This tool can transmit communication in gigabytes in just few seconds. New spacecraft like New Horizon and Juno will be able to transmit much more data using XCOM. This will also benefit astronauts who are on Mars who can call their families more often from space. XCOM can also enable newer communication systems which will be outside the solar system. Jason Mitchell, who is an engineer at NASA, informed they had put too much effort to get the tool work. He informed this will be a great idea for astronauts who are at far distance from earth.

At present, the earth based communications are done on radio waves. X-rays and radio waves, both are different types of electro-magnetic radiation. Both of these travel at lightning speed. Radio waves are easy to generate and also easy to modulate. X-rays are not used for earth based communications at present. These cannot be transmitted via wires and for this reason it is safer for use on space. These rays have short wavelengths as compared to infrared and radio waves. The best part, X-rays do not have limitations like other types of radio waves. This limitation is when spacecraft return to earth, lot of plasma is created around it. This cloud of blackout prevents the other types of radioactive rays from reaching the space craft. This blockage can be for quite some time and is dangerous as within this time the space-capsule can fall out of space.