Indeed. While there was the famous http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Laser_Ranging_experiment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Laser_Ranging_experiment appar

Indeed. While there was the famous http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Laser_Ranging_experiment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Laser_Ranging_experiment apparently most space communication happens via the usual parabolic/phased array antennae: http://www.ri.cmu.edu/pub_files/pub1/bapna_deepak_1996_1/bapna_deepak_1996_1.pdf http://www.ri.cmu.edu/pub_files/pub1/bapna_deepak_1996_1/bap... KISS is doubly important in space I suppose. EDIT: reading that wiki article it seems the first lunar laser experiments happened in 1962, so we may have found Asimov's inspiration. EDIT2: nope, apparently he was spot on after all ;)