From the “Better Than Sci-Fi” Files:
NASA now has technology in place for data transfer from the Earth to the Moon at an astounding 100 Mbps.
That’s right, NASA has more bandwidth on the (literally) long haul between the Moon and the Earth than most Americans between their ISPs and their homes.
NASA has deployed a new type of transmitter on its Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) which is now orbiting the Moon. In an article on NASA.gov this week, NASA explained how the new technology works.
The 100 Mbps transmission is delivered from the Moon orbiting LRO by way of a 12-inch tube called the Traveling Wave Tube Amplifier. NASA explained that the device
uses electrodes in a vacuum tube to amplify microwave signals to high
power. NASA noted that the LRO is able to transmit a whopping 461 gigabytes of data per day.