China's Lunar Laser Communication Test Hits 100 Mbps to the Moon
Chinese researchers successfully conducted a two-way laser communication test with a satellite in lunar orbit, achieving data speeds of 100 Mbps. This milestone marks a significant step toward establishing a high-speed 'lunar internet' for future crewed missions.
Why it matters
High-speed space communication is essential for the next generation of lunar exploration and establishes a competitive technological framework between global space agencies.
On August 26, 2026, a team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences did something no other nation had done since the United States more than a decade ago. They fired a laser from Earth, hit a satellite more than 400,000 kilometers away in lunar orbit, and downloaded data at 100 megabits per second. Then they turned the laser around and sent commands back up at 1.25 Mbps. The two-way “Earth-Moon information highway” was officially open, and it rewrites what is possible for crewed lunar missions, robotic exploration, and the looming race to build a lunar internet.
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