From the Space Porn dept.:
This new system, which will be tested over the next few years, will bring ultra high-speed internet to the far reaches of the galaxy. With traditional RF radios it takes about 90 minutes for a hi-res image to be beamed back to us from Mars. With this new laser-powered system, it'll take less than five. This will not only get us more imagery and faster from our deep-space probes, but it could be used to avert a potentially critical situation that a Mars rover could get itself into.