Happy weekend. The January issue of Photonics Spectra happens to touch upon two aspects of small-body science; we’re becoming inescapable. Jérémy Picot-Clémente (Photonics Paves a Path to the Emerging New Space Sector, p. 80), notes how, in multiple photonic-relevant ways, the field called ‘new space’ (emergent and multiplying projects, departments, and corporations/governments) is both demanding and supplying advances and revenues. Yes, it’s a great time to be a photonic engineer (or manager or supplier or just investor). This includes a brief mention of asteroid mining; truly, a new opportunity for supplying/investing.
Then, in the “Lighter Side” closer (no author, “Can you NIR me now?”, p.130) the Psyche mission‘s optical secondary payload (DSOC, Deep Space Optical Communication) is chatted up. By virtue of spiraling away from Earth towards its target, the Psyche spacecraft is becoming a greater and greater challenge for communication in general. Each passing moment, the spacecraft (and conversely, the receiver telescope on Earth) appear tinier and tinier. Each comm test, then, sets a new record for farthest laser link. Having your cell call fuzz out, or your bench test jitter off into zero signal, suddenly looks insignificant.