What if NASA weighed the mountains… with atoms? The space agency is preparing a quantum sensor to probe earthly gravity. The project is so crazy that it feels like an episode of Star Trek.
The gravity, this invisible force that sticks to the chairs, still intrigues scientists. To unravel its mysteries, NASA develops an unprecedented tool: a quantum gradiometer. Called QGGPF, this case the size of a suitcase will use Clouds of atoms cooled at -273 ° C to measure gravitational variations from space. What to detect aquifers, oil deposits … or tracker the melting of glaciers.
The principle? Cool rubidium atoms near absolute zero. At this temperature, they behave like waves, not like particles. The sensor compares the fall of two atomic clouds: the more the cloud accelerates, the stronger the local gravity. “” With this technique, we could weigh the Himalayas », Had Jason Hyon, Tech Manager at NASA.
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-An orbit quantum laboratory
Magic operates thanks to quantum physics. Unlike ancient gradiometers, subjects to interference, The atoms offer reproducible measures. « Each test is identical, and the environmental noise no longer bothers us “Explains Sheng-Wey Chiow, a project physicist. Result: a precision multiplied by ten.
With its 125 kg and its reduced size (0.25 m³), the QGGPF is a miniaturization jewel. He will join the terrestrial orbit by 2030 for a test mission. Objective: to validate the technology before shipping it to Mars or Europe, the Jupiter’s icy moon.
Land applications are just as exciting. Cartographing groundwater, monitoring oil tanks, or anticipating earthquakes by scanning tectonic movements. « No one has yet sent such a tool to space. We will discover its real potential », Enthuses Ben Stray, postdoctoralizing at NASA.
If the HQ keeps its promises, it will revolutionize our understanding of the planets. Imagine: Sounding the underground oceans of Europe without drilling ice, or tracking the gravitational variations in volcanic eruptions.
