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Active TRL 7 (started at 4, targeting 9)
The Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL), launched in 2018, produces clouds of ultra-cold atoms called Bose-Einstein Condensates (BECs), a bizarre state of matter in which atoms behave less like particles and more like waves. On the International Space Station, free from the pull of gravity, scientists are able to observe BECs for much longer than what is possible on Earth, and reach even colder temperatures than what is typically achieved on the ground. To make CAL a reality, technology improvements were implemented to reduce the size of the hardware necessary to create BECs, and to make it sturdy enough to survive the trip to space. Inside the Cold Atom Laboratory, the atom clouds are chilled to about 10 billionths of a degree above absolute zero, or about 10 billion times colder than the “average” temperature of deep space (typically cited as about 3 Kelvin). This feat is achieved via a 3-step process that begins with using lasers to corral the atoms and slow them down, stealing their energy and reducing the temperature. Radio waves then push away the warmest atoms, and the cloud’s expansion into very weak atom traps further reduces its temperature. In a BEC, the atoms form a single quantum wave state, and become indistinguishable from one another; this state of matter is not thought to form naturally in the universe. With CAL’s long observing times, ultra-cold temperatures and a weightless environment, researchers are able to execute a range of experiments that allow them to address some of the most fundamental questions in science, such as the nature of gravity, what is the dark matter and dark energy, and explorations of how complexity arises in the universe.
Specific technologies developed by CAL through demonstration in space are:
An updated Science Module was launched and installed in CAL that adds optical Bragg beams for atom interferometry. This CAL upgrade has now demonstrated atom interferometer operation on the ISS, forming the basis of a new generation of exquisitely precise quantum sensors for scientists wishing to explore the universe. Applications of these spaceborne quantum sensors include tests of general relativity, searches for dark energy and gravitational waves, space craft navigation and drag referencing, and gravity science including geodesy of planetary bodies.
The capability to perform research using potassium isotopes will also be added to the CAL tool chest.
The space technology being advanced by CAL is foundational for many other research and technology areas. The technology developed and verified by CAL could contribute to improved technologies for atomic clocks, which are used in space navigation to determine the precise location of spacecraft, and improved atom interferometry technologies, which can enable a whole host of new science and technology applications in space. In addition, the technologies CAL uses to produce ultracold atoms in space could help researchers build improved quantum sensors for spacecraft, with applications ranging from monitoring Earth’s changing climate to remote studies of the internal makeup of planets and asteroids. The Cold Atom Laboratory is a fundamental physics experiment that will allow scientists to probe the building blocks of nature that make up everything from massive galaxies to individual people. CAL may also provide insights into the nature of dark matter and dark energy, which make up about 95 percent of the universe and yet remain deeply mysterious to scientists.
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