NASA Streams Video of a Cat Chasing a Laser From Deep Space

NASA recently achieved a major feat by successfully transmitting a video to Earth from almost 19 million miles in space. This was a historic milestone for the agency as it showed the possibilities for humans to send visual messages from locations beyond Earth's orbit. An orange tabby cat by the name of Taters, who was the star of this cosmic show, was filmed on Earth, and the video was onto the Psyche spacecraft before NASA launched it in October. The spacecraft went on a mission to explore the metal-rich asteroid 16 Psyche in the asteroid belt. When it was far enough to be considered in deep space, it used a near-infrared laser to send the cat video back to Earth. And it actually worked! Here are the details.

Ryan Rogalin, the receiver electronics lead for the project at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, shared a 15-second video of Taters chasing a laser. It took the signal less than two minutes to reach Earth, and the video quality was in ultra-high definition.

NASA's decision to use a cat video was not arbitrary. Designers debated the choice, aiming for a meaningful and fun transmission. The clip of Taters was a placeholder at first but became a fitting choice as it paid homage to Felix the Cat and showcased the laser technology that was used for it. The video also included overlaid graphics showing Psyche's orbital path, laser technical details, and Taters's color, pattern, and heart rate.