CLEO 2027 Plenary Speaker
Farzana Khatri, Ph.D.
Senior Technical Staff
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Plenary PresentationEnabling the Future of Space Exploration Through Optical Communications: Insights from the Artemis II Mission
About the Presentation
Presentation Abstract
On April 1, 2026, NASA launched Artemis II, sending four astronauts on a historic 10-day journey around the Moon and inaugurating a new era of lunar exploration. Millions worldwide followed the mission in near real-time through continuous high-definition video streaming, enabled by the Orion Artemis II Optical (O2O) communications system delivering up to 260 Mbps downlink rates from cislunar space. This talk traces the evolution of space-based optical communications and presents the O2O architecture, performance, and key insights from Artemis II. We discuss implications for future deep space exploration and crewed missions beyond Earth orbit.
DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release. Distribution is unlimited.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Air Force Contract No. FA8702-15-D-0001 or FA8702-25-D-B002. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Speaker Biography
About Farzana Khatri
Farzana Khatri is a Senior Technical Staff Member in the Optical and Quantum Communications Group at MIT Lincoln Laboratory. With over 20 years of experience in laser communications, she serves as a system engineer and operations lead for space-based optical communication systems.
She recently led systems engineering efforts for NASA’s LEMNOS program, including a laser communications demonstration for the International Space Station and the laser communications link for the Artemis II crewed lunar mission, enabling unprecedented real-time public engagement.
Prior to joining Lincoln Laboratory in 2002, Dr. Khatri worked at AT&T/Tyco Submarine Systems and Sycamore Networks. She holds S.B., S.M. and Ph.D. degrees in EECS from MIT.
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