{"id":11671,"date":"2024-08-13T12:01:59","date_gmt":"2024-08-13T16:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasa-demonstrates-ultra-cool-quantum-sensor-for-first-time-in-space\/"},"modified":"2024-08-13T12:01:59","modified_gmt":"2024-08-13T16:01:59","slug":"nasa-demonstrates-ultra-cool-quantum-sensor-for-first-time-in-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zobi.alcowep.com\/bourtagshdrevxnls658739\/nasa-demonstrates-ultra-cool-quantum-sensor-for-first-time-in-space\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA Demonstrates \u2018Ultra-Cool\u2019 Quantum Sensor for First Time in Space"},"content":{"rendered":"

NASA Demonstrates \u2018Ultra-Cool\u2019 Quantum Sensor for First Time in Space<\/h2>\n

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NASA\u2019s Cold Atom Lab, shown where it\u2019s installed aboard the International Space Station, recently demonstrated the use of a tool called an atom interferometer that can precisely measure gravity and other forces \u2014 and has many potential applications in space.<\/div>\n
NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Future space missions could use quantum technology to track water on Earth, explore the composition of moons and other planets, or probe mysterious cosmic phenomena.<\/em><\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s Cold Atom Lab, a first-of-its-kind facility aboard the International Space Station, has taken another step toward revolutionizing how quantum science can be used in space. Members of the science team measured subtle vibrations of the space station with one of the lab\u2019s onboard tools \u2014 the first time ultra-cold atoms have been employed to detect changes in the surrounding environment in space.<\/p>\n

<\/a>The <\/a>study<\/a>, which appeared in Nature Communications on Aug. 13, also reports the longest demonstration of the wave-like nature of atoms in freefall in space.<\/p>\n

The Cold Atom Lab<\/a> science team made their measurements with a quantum tool called an atom interferometer, which can precisely measure gravity, magnetic fields, and other forces. Scientists and engineers on Earth use this tool to study the fundamental nature of gravity and advance technologies that aid aircraft and ship navigation. (Cell phones, transistors, and GPS are just a few other major technologies based on quantum science<\/a> but do not involve atom interferometry.)<\/p>\n

Physicists have been eager to apply atom interferometry in space because the microgravity there allows longer measurement times and greater instrument sensitivity, but the exquisitely sensitive equipment has been considered too fragile to function for extended periods without hands-on assistance. The Cold Atom Lab, which is operated remotely from Earth, has now shown it\u2019s possible. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cReaching this milestone was incredibly challenging, and our success was not always a given,\u201d said Jason Williams, the Cold Atom Lab project scientist at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. \u201cIt took dedication and a sense of adventure by the team to make this happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Power of Precision<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Space-based sensors that can measure gravity with high precision have a wide range of potential applications. For instance, they could reveal the composition of planets and moons in our solar system, because different materials have different densities that create subtle variations in gravity.<\/p>\n

This type of measurement is already being performed by the U.S.-German collaboration GRACE-FO<\/a> (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on), which detects slight changes in gravity to track the movement of water and ice on Earth. An atom interferometer could provide additional precision and stability, revealing more detail about surface mass changes.<\/p>\n

Precise measurements of gravity could also offer insights into the nature of dark matter and dark energy, two major cosmological mysteries. Dark matter is an invisible substance five times more common in the universe than the \u201cregular\u201d matter that composes planets, stars, and everything else we can see. Dark energy is the name given to the unknown driver of the universe\u2019s accelerating expansion.<\/p>\n

\u201cAtom interferometry could also be used to test Einstein\u2019s theory of general relativity in new ways,\u201d said University of Virginia professor Cass Sackett, a Cold Atom Lab principal investigator and co-author of the new study. \u201cThis is the basic theory explaining the large-scale structure of our universe, and we know that there are aspects of the theory that we don\u2019t understand correctly. This technology may help us fill in those gaps and give us a more complete picture of the reality we inhabit.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Portable Lab<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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NASA\u2019s Cold Atom Lab studies the quantum nature of atoms, the building blocks of our universe, in a place that is out of this world \u2013 the International Space Station. This animated explainer explores what quantum science is and why NASA wants to do it in space. Credit: NASA\/JPL-Caltech<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

About the size of a minifridge, the Cold Atom Lab launched<\/a> to the space station in 2018 with the goal of advancing quantum science by putting a long-term facility in the microgravity environment of low Earth orbit. The lab cools atoms<\/a> to almost absolute zero, or minus 459 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 273 degrees Celsius). At this temperature, some atoms can form a Bose-Einstein condensate, a state of matter in which all atoms essentially share the same quantum identity. As a result, some of the atoms\u2019 typically microscopic quantum properties become macroscopic, making them easier to study.<\/p>\n

Quantum properties include sometimes acting like solid particles and sometimes like waves. Scientists don\u2019t know how these building blocks of all matter can transition between such different physical behaviors, but they\u2019re using quantum technology like what\u2019s available on the Cold Atom Lab to seek answers.<\/p>\n

In microgravity, Bose-Einstein condensates can reach colder temperatures and exist for longer, giving scientists more opportunities to study them. The atom interferometer is among several tools in the facility enabling precision measurements by harnessing the quantum nature of atoms.<\/p>\n

Due to its wave-like behavior, a single atom can simultaneously travel two physically separate paths. If gravity or other forces are acting on those waves, scientists can measure that influence by observing how the waves recombine and interact.<\/p>\n

\u201cI expect that space-based atom interferometry will lead to exciting new discoveries and fantastic quantum technologies impacting everyday life, and will transport us into a quantum future,\u201d said Nick Bigelow, a professor at University of Rochester in New York and Cold Atom Lab principal investigator for a consortium of U.S. and German scientists who co-authored the study.<\/p>\n

More About the Mission<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A division of Caltech in Pasadena, JPL designed and built Cold Atom Lab, which is sponsored by the Biological and Physical Sciences<\/a> (BPS) division of NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate at the agency\u2019s headquarters in Washington. BPS\u202fpioneers\u202fscientific discovery and enables exploration by\u202fusing space environments to conduct investigations\u202fthat are not possible on Earth.\u202fStudying biological and physical phenomena under extreme conditions allows researchers to\u202fadvance\u202fthe\u202ffundamental scientific knowledge\u202frequired to go farther and stay longer in space, while also benefitting life on Earth.\u202f<\/p>\n

To learn more about Cold Atom Lab, visit:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/coldatomlab.jpl.nasa.gov\/<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

News Media Contact<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Calla Cofield
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
626-808-2469
calla.e.cofield@jpl.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n

2024-106<\/p>\n

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