From Earth To Moon @ 622 Mbps : NASA

If humans ever decide to settle on the moon; they'd definitely need oxygen, water & a high-speed Internet connection. Looks like the problem of having a high-speed Internet connection on the moon has been solved. NASA's talented engineers have achieved a new communication speed record with a 622 Mbps data connection link between Earth and the Moon! It all indeed is a big deal considering the distance between the two planets is about 239,000 miles! Impressive isn't it?

Image Credit: NASA

NASA's Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD) system achieved this impressive data transmission speed using pulsed laser beam. NASA replaced the radio waves with laser beam and demonstrated that while the data can be downloaded at 622 Mbps, it can also upload data at 20 Mbps. The communication link was setup between ground station located in New Mexico to the spacecraft currently orbiting the moon.

NASA's Badri Younes says that the new system will be operational soon and open doors for the next generation of space communication. NASA has traditionally relied on radio frequencies (RF) for all the communication and it has reached its limit. With the new technology, it will be possible to transmit high resolution photos and even 3D videos from deep space.

Source: #-Link-Snipped-#

Just read this one! Looks like NASA astronauts would start their torrents immediately as they land on moon the next time - (That's actually a headline of a major blog featuring this news) 😁
NASA has been facing the same problems with space communications that are looming us here on Earth – too much data and not enough bandwidth.

From what I am reading - The Laser Communications Relay Demonstration OR LCRD will be capable of shifting 1.25Gbps of encoded traffic, or 2.88Gbps of uncoded data using laser equipment that is just four inches long and which uses considerably less power than a radio communications system. The mission will last two years and, if successful, will let a new generation of probes send back petabytes of information about our neighbors in the Solar System.

Voila!