The Study of Quantum Phenomena with the Cold Atom Lab in Microgravity

The Cold Atom Lab (CAL) launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in May 2018 and has been entirely remotely operated from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory since then as the world's first multi-user facility for studying ultra-cold atoms in space. CAL uses lasers and magnetic traps to cool atoms down to less than a degree above absolute zero. When clouds of atoms reach these ultracold temperatures, they form a fifth state of matter called a Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC). Distinct from gasses, liquids, solids, and plasmas, a BEC makes the quantum properties of atoms macroscopic, so scientists can more easily observe and interact with them in the essentially limitless free-fall of ISS. An on-orbit upgrade to CAL in 2021 enabled the study of atom interferometry (AI) in space, which uses the interference of atomic matter waves as exquisitely precise sensors for fundamental forces, including gravity, accelerations, and rotations. Relevant to Earth and planetary sciences, these quantum sensors are expected to serve as precision gravity sensors for geodesy, seismology, and subsurface mapping in the near future. We will discuss our efforts to provide pioneering, microgravity-enabled quantum gas research capabilities with CAL, to demonstrate AI for the first time in Earth's orbit, to realize simultaneous, dual-species atom interferometry in space, and to mature this technology for future mission opportunities.

 © 2024 California Institute of Technology. Government sponsorship acknowledged.