High-data-rate deep space optical communication (DSOC) links are desired by NASA and other space agencies to support future advanced science instruments, live high-definition (HD) video feeds, telepresence, and human exploration of Mars and beyond. Optical communications can provide a 10 to 100x increase in data rates from deep space for equivalent spacecraft mass and power as compared to state-of-the-art deep space Ka-band RF communication systems. One of the key technologies for DSOC is a large-area photon-counting detector array for the ground-based receiver.
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