NASA's Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD) will use laser communications systems to transmit data from space to Earth. Below are six things you need to know about NASA's revolutionary LCRD mission.

1. Laser communications will transform how NASA gets info to and from space

Since the dawn of space exploration, NASA has used radio frequency systems to communicate with astronauts and spacecraft. However, as space missions generate and collect more data, the need for enhanced communications capabilities increases. LCRD leverages the power of laser communications, which uses infrared light rather than radio waves, to encode and transmit information to and from Earth.

Both radio waves and laser infrared light waves are forms of electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths at different points on the spectrum. Missions encode their scientific data onto the electromagnetic signals to send back to Earth.

The infrared light used for laser communications differs from radio waves because it occurs at a much higher frequency, allowing engineers to pack more data into each transmission.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk said Wednesday that his company will attempt to launch its futuristic, bullet-shaped Starship to orbit in January, but he's not betting on success for that first test flight.

"There's a lot of risk associated with this first launch, so I would not say that it is likely to be successful, but we'll make a lot of progress," he said during a virtual meeting organized by the National Academy of Sciences.

Musk said he's confident Starship—launching for the first time atop a mega booster—will successfully reach orbit sometime in 2022. After a dozen or so orbital test flights next year, SpaceX then would start launching valuable satellites and other payloads to orbit on Starships in 2023, he said.

NASA has contracted with SpaceX to use Starship for delivering astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2025. Musk plans to use the reusable ships to eventually land people on Mars.

The shiny, stainless steel Starship and its first-stage booster—called the Super Heavy—will be the biggest rocket ever to fly, towering 394 feet (120 meters). Liftoff thrust, Musk noted, will be more than double that of NASA's Saturn V rockets that carried astronauts to the moon a half-century ago.