On August 26, 2026, the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization (CSU) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced that China had for the first time established a two-way laser communication link across more than 400,000 km—the Earth-Moon distance. The link achieved 1.25 Mbps uplink and 100 Mbps downlink, transmitting an 8K lunar surface high-definition image in roughly 12 seconds, compared with 4-5 minutes over a traditional 5 Mbps microwave link. This marks China's transition of space laser communication from low Earth orbit into cislunar space.
The announcement is the culmination of five years of development plus more than one year of in-orbit testing. Dramatically, the DRO-A satellite conducting the experiment itself survived a near-death experience: its upper stage malfunctioned during the March 2024 launch, and the spacecraft had to travel nearly 8.5 million km through repeated perigee maneuvers before being recovered to its target orbit. The 400,000-km laser link was ultimately demonstrated on this rescued satellite.
Key points
- Link performance: >400,000 km distance; uplink 1.25 Mbps, downlink 100 Mbps; 8K lunar image in ~12 seconds vs 4-5 minutes via microwave.
- Three core challenges described by team lead Yang Lei (CSU): 1. Precision (准): laser beams are extremely narrow; a minuscule pointing error over 400,000 km can miss by kilometers. Zhejiang Lab researcher Li Chao compared it to "threading a needle"—firing a very thin beam through a fast-moving pinhole. 2. Weak signal (弱): after 400,000 km, the beam arrives with only a few photons, competing with moonlight, starlight, and city lights. The team used high-speed superconducting single-photon array detectors with high-sensitivity signal processing algorithms. 3. Speed (快): data processing efficiency was substantially improved through technical breakthroughs.
- Why DRO orbit? DRO-A operates in a Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO), offering stable parking (low station-keeping needs), low-energy transfers from LEO, and an ideal staging point for future Earth-Moon transportation. In 2024, DRO-A/DRO-B/DRO-L formed the world's first three-satellite constellation based on DRO in cislunar space.
- NASA LCRD (2021): geostationary laser relay demo
- ESA EDRS: operational for years
- NASA Psyche DSOC (2023): 267 Mbps downlink from ~26 million km
- 2026 H2–2027 H1: routine operation; support for lunar science payload data return
- 2027 H2–2028 H1: validation as primary or backup link for crewed lunar missions
- 2028+: high-speed data return for lunar research station operations
- Science and Technology Daily: https://www.stdaily.com/web/gdxw/2026-08/26/content_570163.html
- China News Service: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7678322415943893556
- Space and Network: https://www.163.com/dy/article/L59QQ2O005119RIN.html
- DoNews: https://www.donews.com/news/detail/8/6686582.html
Multi-institution collaboration
| Institution | Role | |---|---| | CAS Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization | Lead + satellite laser communication test payload | | Zhejiang Lab | DRO-A laser communication payload development | | CAS Yunnan Observatories | Ground laser communication system (optical tracking) | | CAS Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology | Ground laser communication system (single-photon detection) |
The success demonstrates engineering-grade capability in both two-way pointing/tracking and two-way signal identification across space and ground segments simultaneously.
The rescue story
After the March 2024 launch anomaly, teams executed continuous perigee orbit-raising maneuvers; the combined spacecraft traveled nearly 8.5 million km (the actual flight path, far exceeding the 384,000 km Earth-Moon distance, due to multiple orbit changes) before reaching the target orbit in August 2024. The satellites then separated and joined DRO-L to form the three-satellite constellation. The breakthrough laser link was achieved on this recovered satellite in July 2026, officially announced August 26.
International context
China's milestone is distinct not in raw speed but in distance paradigm shift: the first two-way laser link at Earth-Moon range, validated in real spaceflight conditions rather than as a laboratory prototype.
Next steps
Team lead Yang Lei stated that the Earth-Moon "information highway" is now open, and the technology will support China's crewed lunar landing, lunar research station construction, and deep space exploration with high-speed data transmission. Expected roadmap:
Reference data
| Dimension | Value | |---|---| | Distance | >400,000 km (~1.3× Earth-Moon mean) | | Uplink | 1.25 Mbps | | Downlink | 100 Mbps | | 8K lunar image | 12 s (vs 4-5 min microwave) | | Development | 5 years + 1 year in-orbit testing | | Satellite | DRO-A (rescued after 2024 launch anomaly; ~8.5 million km recovery journey) |