Nebula Public Library

The use of lasers for space missions has been increasing in the past and will dramatically increase in the future. Lasers in space often fulfill tasks that cannot be accomplished by other means. Examples are measuring distances of millions of kilometers with nanometer precision, detecting trace gases in the atmosphere of Earth from a satellite, or transmitting data between satellites over distances of some 10,000 km at very high rates. With the exception of semiconductor lasers, almost all of the la- sers used in space are optically pumped solid state lasers.