\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tReinventing the Clock: NASA\u2019s New Tech for Space Timekeeping\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/img-0046.jpeg?w=1536\")
<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe Optical Atomic Strontium Ion Clock is a higher-precision atomic clock that is small enough to fit on a spacecraft.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\tCredits: <\/span>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNASA\/Matthew Kaufman<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nHere on Earth, it might not matter if your wristwatch runs a few seconds slow. But crucial spacecraft functions need accuracy down to one billionth of a second or less. Navigating with GPS, for example, relies on precise timing signals from satellites to pinpoint locations. Three teams at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, are at work to push timekeeping for space exploration to new levels of precision.<\/p>\n
\n- One team develops highly precise quantum clock synchronization techniques to aid essential spacecraft communication and navigation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\n- Another Goddard team is working to employ the technique of clock synchronization in space-based platforms to enable telescopes to function as one enormous observatory.<\/li>\n
- The third team is developing an atomic clock for spacecraft based on strontium, a metallic chemical element, to enable scientific observations not possible with current technology.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The need for increasingly accurate timekeeping is why these teams at NASA Goddard, supported by the center\u2019s Internal Research and Development<\/a> program, hone clock precision and synchronization with innovative technologies like quantum and optical communications.<\/p>\nSyncing Up Across the Solar System<\/strong><\/h2>\n\u201cSociety requires clock synchronization for many crucial functions like power grid management, stock market openings, financial transactions, and much more,\u201d said Alejandro Rodriguez Perez, a NASA Goddard researcher. \u201cNASA uses clock synchronization to determine the position of spacecraft and set navigation parameters.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you line up two clocks and sync them together, you might expect that they will tick at the same rate forever. In reality, the more time passes, the more out of sync the clocks become, especially if those clocks are on spacecraft traveling at tens of thousands of miles per hour. Rodriguez Perez seeks to develop a new way of precisely synchronizing such clocks and keeping them synced using quantum technology.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/img-9953.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nWork on the quantum clock synchronization protocol takes place in this lab at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.<\/div>\nNASA\/Matthew Kaufman<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nIn quantum physics, two particles are entangled when they behave like a single object and occupy two states at once. For clocks, applying quantum protocols to entangled photons could allow for a precise and secure way to sync clocks across long distances.<\/p>\n
The heart of the synchronization protocol is called spontaneous parametric down conversion, which is when one photon breaks apart and two new photons form. Two detectors will each analyze when the new photons appear, and the devices will apply mathematical functions to determine the offset in time between the two photons, thus synchronizing the clocks.<\/p>\n
While clock synchronization is currently done using GPS, this protocol could make it possible to precisely synchronize clocks in places where GPS access is limited<\/a>, like the Moon or deep space.<\/p>\nSyncing Clocks, Linking Telescopes to See More than Ever Before<\/strong><\/h2>\nWhen it comes to astronomy, the usual rule of thumb is the bigger the telescope, the better its imagery.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we could hypothetically have a telescope as big as Earth, we would have incredibly high-resolution images of space, but that\u2019s obviously not practical,\u201d said Guan Yang, an optical physicist at NASA Goddard. \u201cWhat we can do, however, is have multiple telescopes in various locations and have each telescope record the signal with high time precision. Then we can stich their observations together and produce an ultra-high-res image.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea of linking together the observations of a network of smaller telescopes to affect the power of a larger one is called very long baseline interferometry, or VLBI.<\/p>\n
For VLBI to produce a whole greater than the sum of its parts, the telescopes need high-precision clocks. The telescopes record data alongside timestamps of when the data was recorded. High-powered computers assemble all the data together into one complete observation with greater detail than any one of the telescopes could achieve on its own. This technique is what allowed the Event Horizon Telescope\u2019s network of observatories to produce the first image of a black hole<\/a> at the center of our galaxy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Using](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/m87_eht.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nThe Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) \u2014 a planet-scale array of eight ground-based radio telescopes forged through international collaboration \u2014 was designed to capture images of a black hole. Although the telescopes making up the EHT are not physically connected, they are able to synchronize their recorded data with atomic clocks.<\/div>\nEHT Collaboration<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nYang\u2019s team is developing a clock technology that could be useful for missions looking to take the technique from Earth into space which could unlock many more discoveries.<\/p>\n
An Optical Atomic Clock Built for Space Travel<\/strong><\/h2>\nSpacecraft navigation systems currently rely on onboard atomic clocks to obtain the most accurate time possible. Holly Leopardi, a physicist at NASA Goddard, is researching optical atomic clocks, a more precise type of atomic clock.<\/p>\n
While optical atomic clocks exist in laboratory settings, Leopardi and her team seek to develop a spacecraft-ready version that will provide more precision.<\/p>\n
The team works on OASIC, which stands for Optical Atomic Strontium Ion Clock. While current spacecraft utilize microwave frequencies, OASIC uses optical frequencies.<\/p>\n
<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\tNASA\/Matthew Kaufman<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Here on Earth, it might not matter if your wristwatch runs a few seconds slow. But crucial spacecraft functions need accuracy down to one billionth of a second or less. Navigating with GPS, for example, relies on precise timing signals from satellites to pinpoint locations. Three teams at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, are at work to push timekeeping for space exploration to new levels of precision.<\/p>\n
- \n
- One team develops highly precise quantum clock synchronization techniques to aid essential spacecraft communication and navigation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
- \n
- Another Goddard team is working to employ the technique of clock synchronization in space-based platforms to enable telescopes to function as one enormous observatory.<\/li>\n
- The third team is developing an atomic clock for spacecraft based on strontium, a metallic chemical element, to enable scientific observations not possible with current technology.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The need for increasingly accurate timekeeping is why these teams at NASA Goddard, supported by the center\u2019s Internal Research and Development<\/a> program, hone clock precision and synchronization with innovative technologies like quantum and optical communications.<\/p>\n
Syncing Up Across the Solar System<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u201cSociety requires clock synchronization for many crucial functions like power grid management, stock market openings, financial transactions, and much more,\u201d said Alejandro Rodriguez Perez, a NASA Goddard researcher. \u201cNASA uses clock synchronization to determine the position of spacecraft and set navigation parameters.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you line up two clocks and sync them together, you might expect that they will tick at the same rate forever. In reality, the more time passes, the more out of sync the clocks become, especially if those clocks are on spacecraft traveling at tens of thousands of miles per hour. Rodriguez Perez seeks to develop a new way of precisely synchronizing such clocks and keeping them synced using quantum technology.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n Work on the quantum clock synchronization protocol takes place in this lab at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.<\/div>\nNASA\/Matthew Kaufman<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nIn quantum physics, two particles are entangled when they behave like a single object and occupy two states at once. For clocks, applying quantum protocols to entangled photons could allow for a precise and secure way to sync clocks across long distances.<\/p>\n
The heart of the synchronization protocol is called spontaneous parametric down conversion, which is when one photon breaks apart and two new photons form. Two detectors will each analyze when the new photons appear, and the devices will apply mathematical functions to determine the offset in time between the two photons, thus synchronizing the clocks.<\/p>\n
While clock synchronization is currently done using GPS, this protocol could make it possible to precisely synchronize clocks in places where GPS access is limited<\/a>, like the Moon or deep space.<\/p>\n
Syncing Clocks, Linking Telescopes to See More than Ever Before<\/strong><\/h2>\n
When it comes to astronomy, the usual rule of thumb is the bigger the telescope, the better its imagery.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we could hypothetically have a telescope as big as Earth, we would have incredibly high-resolution images of space, but that\u2019s obviously not practical,\u201d said Guan Yang, an optical physicist at NASA Goddard. \u201cWhat we can do, however, is have multiple telescopes in various locations and have each telescope record the signal with high time precision. Then we can stich their observations together and produce an ultra-high-res image.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea of linking together the observations of a network of smaller telescopes to affect the power of a larger one is called very long baseline interferometry, or VLBI.<\/p>\n
For VLBI to produce a whole greater than the sum of its parts, the telescopes need high-precision clocks. The telescopes record data alongside timestamps of when the data was recorded. High-powered computers assemble all the data together into one complete observation with greater detail than any one of the telescopes could achieve on its own. This technique is what allowed the Event Horizon Telescope\u2019s network of observatories to produce the first image of a black hole<\/a> at the center of our galaxy.<\/p>\n
\n\n\n<\/a><\/figure>\n The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) \u2014 a planet-scale array of eight ground-based radio telescopes forged through international collaboration \u2014 was designed to capture images of a black hole. Although the telescopes making up the EHT are not physically connected, they are able to synchronize their recorded data with atomic clocks.<\/div>\nEHT Collaboration<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nYang\u2019s team is developing a clock technology that could be useful for missions looking to take the technique from Earth into space which could unlock many more discoveries.<\/p>\n
An Optical Atomic Clock Built for Space Travel<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Spacecraft navigation systems currently rely on onboard atomic clocks to obtain the most accurate time possible. Holly Leopardi, a physicist at NASA Goddard, is researching optical atomic clocks, a more precise type of atomic clock.<\/p>\n
While optical atomic clocks exist in laboratory settings, Leopardi and her team seek to develop a spacecraft-ready version that will provide more precision.<\/p>\n
The team works on OASIC, which stands for Optical Atomic Strontium Ion Clock. While current spacecraft utilize microwave frequencies, OASIC uses optical frequencies.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/img-0046.jpeg?w=2048\")
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