An orange tabby cat is taking the world by storm, all thanks to NASA!
The orange tabby is known for being one of the most loving and affectionate cats out there.
But, it might surprise a lot of people to learn that orange tabby cats aren’t actually a breed.
Instead, the term “tabby” refers to a cat’s specific type of coat pattern–which can be found on famous cats like Garfield and Puss In Boots.
Now, another orange tabby is getting some shine, proving that regardless of their breed, orange tabbys continues to be the most beloved cats.
An orange tabby cat named Taters stars in the first video transmitted by laser from deep space.
Unsurprisingly, the cute kitty quickly steals the show as he chases a red laser light.
The 15-second video was beamed to Earth from NASA’s Psyche spacecraft, 19 million miles away.
It took less than two minutes for the ultra high-definition video to reach Caltech’s Palomar Observatory, sent at the test system’s maximum rate of 267 megabits per second, according to AP.
The video was loaded into Psyche’s laser communication experiment before the spacecraft blasted off to a rare metal asteroid back in October.
The mission team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, decided to feature an employee’s 3-year-old playful cat.
The video was streamed to Earth on December 11 and ended up being released by NASA this week.
Despite the long distance it had to travel, the test relayed the video faster than most broadband internet connections here on Earth, according to the project’s receiver electronics lead Ryan Rogalin.
“In fact, after receiving the video at Palomar, it was sent to JPL over the internet, and that connection was slower than the signal coming from deep space,” Rogalin said.
He also noted that Taters was a hit among researchers: “JPL’s DesignLab did an amazing job helping us showcase this technology — everyone loves Taters.”
NASA is doing these tests in an effort to improve communications from deep space.
That plan becomes increasingly important as astronauts gear up to return to the moon with an eye toward Mars.
The laser demo is meant to transmit data at rates up to 100 times greater than the radio systems currently used by spacecraft far from Earth.
According to JPL, more test transmissions are planned as Psyche heads toward the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Unfortunately, though, Taters won’t be making anymore appearances.
Joby Harris, an art director in JPL’s DesignLab, couldn’t be prouder, but still doesn’t want his cat’s newfound celebrity to go to his head.
“I’m celebrating his spotlight with him, but making sure he keeps his paws on the carpet,” Harris joked in an email Tuesday.
The NASA team said they hope this communication technology “paves the way” for “higher-data-rate communications” that can someday be used in a mission sending humans to Mars.
“Increasing our bandwidth is essential to achieving our future exploration and science goals,” said NASA deputy administrator Pam Melroy.
She continued, “We look forward to the continued advancement of this technology and the transformation of how we communicate during future interplanetary missions,”