NASA's Cold Atom Lab: How Atoms are Defying Gravity | International Space Station

NASA's Cold Atom Lab: How Atoms are Defying Gravity | International Space Station

NASA’s Cold Atom Lab studies the quantum nature of atoms, the building blocks of our universe, in a place that is out of this world—the International Space Station. This animated explainer explores what quantum science is and why NASA wants to do it in space. 

Quantum science has revolutionized our understanding of the physical world and led to new technologies including cellphones, computers, medical devices, and GPS. However, Earth’s gravity poses challenges for studying the quantum behaviors of atoms.

To overcome those challenges, Cold Atom Lab operates in microgravity. Using lasers and magnetic fields, scientists run the lab remotely from Earth, cooling groups of atoms to temperatures colder than any naturally occurring matter in the universe. Cold atoms, nearly motionless, reveal their behaviors more clearly. The absence of Earth’s gravity allows for prolonged atom study, opening new avenues in quantum exploration. 

For more information, visit: 

http://coldatomlab.jpl.nasa.gov/

Expedition 71 Updates:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 71 Crew

Station Commander: Oleg Kononenko (Russia)

Roscosmos (Russia): Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin (Russia)

NASA: Tracy Dyson, Matthew Dominick, Mike Barrett, Jeanette Epps

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada. The ISS has been the most politically complex space exploration program ever undertaken.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Duration: 3 minutes

Release Date: Aug. 12, 2024

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