NASA's Cold Atom Lab: Quantum Science and Technology Maturation on the International Space Station

ORAL

Abstract

NASA’s Cold Atom Lab (CAL) launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in May 2018, and has been operating since that time as the world’s first multi-user facility for the study of ultra-cold quantum gases in space. The unique microgravity environment of the ISS is utilized with CAL by a national group of principal investigators to achieve sub-nanokelvin temperature gases, to study and utilize their quantum properties in an environment free from the perturbing force of gravity, and to observe and interact with these gases in the essentially limitless freefall of Earth’s orbit. In addition to the toolbox of capabilities originally built into CAL, an upgrade in 2020 enabled the study of atom interferometry in orbit, and a 2021 upgrade and repair facilitated investigations of the interactions between mixtures of 87Rb, 39K, and 41K and a demonstration of dual-species (87Rb - 41K or 87Rb - 39K) atom interferometry. This talk will review the up-to-date quantum gas research explored with CAL and the technical accomplishments to operate, maintain, and upgrade CAL during its tenure in the microgravity environment of the ISS. This research has broad applications in fundamental physics and precision sensing to open the door for future quantum-enabled mission opportunities.

*This research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

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Presenters

  • Jason R Williams

    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

Authors

  • Jason R Williams

    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

  • Kamal Oudrhiri

    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

  • David C Aveline

    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

  • Sofia Botsi

    • Jet Propulsion Laboratory

  • Ethan R Elliott

    • NASA/Jet Propulsion Lab

  • James M Kohel

    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

  • Jim R Kellogg

    • Jet Propulsion Laboratory
    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

  • Javier Bosch-Lluis

    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
    • JPL

  • Arvid Croonquist

    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

  • Walker L Dula

    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

  • Nate Harvey

    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

  • Shahram Javidnia

    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

  • Mehdi Langlois

    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

  • Norman E Lay

    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
    • JPL

  • Sarah K Rees

    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

  • Matteo S Sbroscia

    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

  • Christian Schneider

    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

  • Gregory Y Shin

    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

  • Robert J Thompson

    • NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
    • JPL

  • Nicholas P Bigelow

    • University of Rochester

  • Eric A. Cornell

    • National Institute of Standards and Technology Boulder
    • National Institute of Standards and Technology Boulder, University of Colorado, Boulder

  • Peter W Engels

    • Washington State University

  • Nathan Lundblad

    • Bates College

  • Cass A Sackett

    • University of Virginia