The first operational #optical #communication line arrived in 📆1792, covering #France 🇫🇷 with a network of 556 stations stretching a total distance of 4,800 km https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_communication#Semaphore_line

Picture : #NASA's #Mars #Telecommunications #Orbiter * https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PIA07499.jpg

* successor : Key features #SolarElectric #IonDrive engines, broadband #LaserCommunication (optic communication) between #Earth and #Mars https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Next_Mars_Orbiter

#ARRM The #Asteroid ☄️ Redirect Mission was intended to develop a #robotic #spacecraft to visit a large #NEA and collect a multi-ton boulder ⛰️ from its surface. It would then redirect the boulder into orbit around the #moon 🌙, where #astronauts 👨‍🚀 would have explored it and returned to #Earth with samples. #WhiteHouse #SpacePolicy Directive 1, issued 📆 Dec. 11, 2017*, ended the mission. But many of the central #technologies in development for that mission, such as #SolarElectric ☀️⚡ #propulsion, will continue https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/asteroid-redirect-robotic-mission-arrm

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidency_of_Donald_Trump#Space

The #Psyche #spacecraft travels using #SolarElectric (low-thrust) #propulsion. Solar ☀️ electric propulsion uses electricity from solar arrays to create electromagnetic fields to accelerate and expel charged atoms ⚛️ (#ions) of #xenon to create a very low thrust with a very efficient use of #propellant ⛽. This will be the first use of a #HallEffectThruster beyond lunar orbit.
#Launch period 📆 October 5-25, 2023 https://psyche.asu.edu/mission/launch

Propulsion : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psyche_(spacecraft)#Propulsion

#Forbes "Psyche could contain a core of #iron, #nickel and #gold worth $10,000 #quadrillion" https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiecartereurope/2022/10/29/nasa-will-launch-psyche-mission-to-explore-asteroid-worth-more-than-the-global-economy

#NYT #AsteroidMining : "let’s say Psyche ☄️were pulverized and carried to #Earth 🌎. For precisely that reason, #prices of iron and nickel would drop close to zero. I interviewed Matthew Gialich, the chief executive officer and a co-founder of #AstroForge. They’re going for #platinum, which sells for a little under $1,000 an ounce, and related #metals, such as #palladium." https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/08/opinion/psyche-asteroid-nasa-mining.html