NASA wants to trace the Earth’s gravity with a cloud of floating atoms in space

Fasten, Nerds: NASA builds the first quantum gravity sensor for a space-size space-based space, which can soon be a measurement of everything from the groundwater to the hidden oil reserves, all by observing the clouds of atoms acting under the power of gravity.

Researchers at the NASA JPL (JPL) Laboratory, along with several partners, are developing a project called the Quantum Gravity Gradiometer Pathfinder (QGGPF) Pathfinder. As its name shows, QGGPF is a gravitational gravity that measures how the acceleration of one object compares with that of another object nearby; The difference in acceleration of objects corresponds to the gravitational force acting on each site. When the gravity is stronger, the objects – AKA test tables – faster.

Earth’s gravity is not constant – it changes finely all the time when the mass shifts around the planet. Geological processes such as tectonic activity, glossing or aquifers can slightly pressed gravitational forces in one area or another. On our physical scale, these shifts are imperceptible-but not for ultra-sensitive instruments of scientists.

These small variations are not just a strangeness of nature – they have real usefulness for navigation systems, the mapping of natural resources and even national security. With the right sensors, scientists can use gravity to “see” what is hidden under the earth’s surface. The bigger the gravity map, the better we understand what is going on underground.

“We could determine the Himalayas table using atoms,” says Jason Hion, Chief Earth Science Technologist in JPL, in NASA releaseS QGGPF will specifically use rubiding atoms, cooled to just above absolute zero, which are kept more like waves than particles to make their measurements from the outside in space.

This is where quantum magic begins: QGGPF uses two clouds of ultra-cold atoms-test masses-and compare how quickly they fall compared to another. A faster fall shows a stronger gravity in this place. The difference in acceleration between the two clouds tells scientists where gravitational abnormalities are located.

Unlike the older gravitational graviometers, QGGPF uses quantum physics to ensure repeatability and precision. “With atoms, I can guarantee that every measurement will be the same,” said physicist Shen-Way Chio. “We are less sensitive to environmental noise.”

QGGPF packs these avid measurements in a small space -based space package: The device weighs only £ 275 (125 kilograms) and occupies about 0.3 cubic yards (0.25 cubic meters).

Quantum gravity gravitures can be 10 times more sensitive than classic gravity sensors, according to NASA release. This means more data, less blind spots and a greater view of what is happening under our feet -and maybe on other planets in the future.

QGGPF will be launched by the end of the decade and its main mission is to prove the technology – hence and Pathfinder in its name. “No one has flown one of them before,” says JPL Postdoc Ben Stray, in the same edition. “We have to test it in space to know what he is really capable of.”

If QGGPF flies and introduces itself as it hopes, we can not only map our own planet with unprecedented details – we can change the way we peek into the gas and rocky gut of distant worlds.