NASA launch First Space-Based Quantum Gravity Gradiometer
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory is getting ready to launch the first space-based quantum gravity gradiometer in collaboration with academic and small business partners
A NASA news release states that the experiment will demonstrate how quantum sensors, particularly ultra-cold atom interferometry-based ones, can precisely identify gravitational anomalies
Gravity gradiometers detect the gravity gradient, which is the difference in the rates at which two test masses fall over short distances
The fundamental sensor of QGGPf will be substantially smaller than conventional spaceborne gravity instruments, measuring only 0.25 cubic meters and weighing only 125 kilograms
That will enable us to develop quantum technology in general as well as the quantum gravity gradiometer
The method employed in the QGGPf, atom interferometry, measures phase shifts brought on by gravitational forces by splitting and recombining matter waves
NASA relies on GRACE and GRACE-FO for gravity measurements, but QGGPf offers a new sensing technology that could replace or supplement gravimetry missions
A compact, high-precision quantum equipment for planetary research and Earth observation, as well as an operational quantum gravity gradiometer, could result from this project