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\t\t\t\t\t\t14\/11\/2023<\/span> Europe \u2013 and the world \u2013\u00a0in the midst of the \u2018quantum decade\u2019: a period in which the peculiar properties of matter that manifest at the very tiniest of scales are being transformed from mere scientific curiosities into the basis of practical technologies and products. The result? Major leaps forward in communications, navigation, computing and environmental sensing.<\/p>\n The same is true in space: ESA is currently sending a quantum-enabled probe to Jupiter, developing communications based on quantum technologies and planning flying a quantum clock to the International Space Station, as part of its quantum technology cross-cutting initiative.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Quantum sensor headed to Jupiter<\/b><\/p>\n Part of the\u00a0magnetometer of ESA\u2019s Juice spacecraft, launched to the largest planet in our Solar System in April, the\u00a0MAGSCA sensor\u00a0relies on a quantum interference phenomenon to perform absolute measurements of magnetic field strength, providing calibration for a larger pair of conventional ‘fluxgate’ magnetometers. Performing well during in-space commissioning, MAGSCA was built for ESA by the Austrian Academy of Sciences in partnership with\u00a0Graz University of Technology.<\/p>\n Meanwhile hardware based on \u2018quantum entanglement\u2019 was\u00a0tested earlier this year aboard an ESA parabolic \u2018zero-g\u2019 flight, demonstrating its robustness to gravity shifts.<\/p>\n ESA\u2019s quantum activities are now overseen by its new quantum technology cross-cutting initiative, coordinating all quantum technology R&D taking place across the Agency.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Quantum vision of ESA\u2019s future<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cQuantum technology was defined as a strategic priority in the Agenda 2025\u00a0of ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher, seen as offering new avenues to commercial success and technical leadership, and we are implementing this vision,\u201d explains ESA optoelectronics system engineer Eric Wille.<\/p>\n \u201cIn one form or another ESA has been working on quantum technologies for the last quarter of a century, steadily raising overall readiness levels and chalking up some major successes along the way, including participating in the then-world record for quantum communications.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cThis cumulative effort has helped us expand our range of activities, and build links with the quantum research community, most recently through ESA\u2019s\u00a0latest quantum technology conference in September. To summarise: ESA is really open for business in this field, and if you have ideas for research, we want to hear from you!\u201d<\/p>\n Weird science of the very small<\/b><\/p>\n Often termed as the most successful theory of the past century, quantum physics underpins the workings of everyday items like silicon chips, lasers and medical imaging machines. At the heart of this theory is the seemingly counter-intuitive fact that at extremely small scales, atoms, photons and other particles start behaving like waves.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n This in turn leads to phenomena such as \u2018quantum superposition\u2019, where a particle can exist in more than one possible state at once, and \u2018quantum entanglement\u2019, where multiple particles go on sharing identical physical characteristics, even when separated by long distances.<\/p>\n Quantum technologies set out to utilise such exotic behaviour as the basis of more powerful computing, ultra-precise timing, secure sharing of information and high-sensitivity sensors \u2013 while contending with the challenge that quantum states are easily perturbed, and prone to collapse.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Quantum communications from space<\/b><\/p>\n Among the first applications of quantum technologies for communication is securing communication channels – known as \u2018quantum key distribution\u2019. Encryption today is based on the sharing of \u2018cryptographic keys\u2019 \u2013 created using mathematical algorithms \u2013 between sender and recipient. These keys are normally shared over communication channels, enabling recipients of such keys to decrypt secured messages. But if these keys are intercepted, their encryption can be broken and secured data becomes accessible without recipients being aware of it.<\/p>\n Quantum key distribution increases the security of exchanging cryptographic keys by deriving them from quantum physical properties of light. These properties change the instant someone is \u2018listening in\u2019, alerting users to this intrusion. They can then simply discard these keys in favour of untampered alternatives. Accordingly this secures data based on keys known only to intended users. Space can play an important role in this: using laser links on satellites allows the bridging of distances through free space with a larger reach compared to optical fibres, where the light signals degrade more quickly.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n ESA is collaborating with the European Commission to develop quantum key distribution for governmental applications, as well as supporting industry partnerships like the Eagle-1 mission with satellite manufacturer\u00a0SES\u00a0\u2013 developing technologies previously fostered through ESA\u2019s ScyLight programme.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n For more than a quarter of a century, ESA\u2019s Optical Ground Station has been supporting optical and quantum communication experiments from the slopes of Tenerife\u2019s Mount Teide volcano. Testing quantum links through the atmosphere across the islands \u2013 or up to orbiting satellites \u2013 has already provided a wealth of information.<\/p>\n Lessons learned will guide the development and deployment of the European quantum communication infrastructure, which is part of\u00a0the EU\u2019s secure connectivity programme<\/p>\n Quantum sensing<\/b><\/p>\n Quantum states \u2013 such as \u2018cold atoms\u2019, systematically slowed down in their motion using lasers \u2013 often prove to be exquisitely sensitive to their surrounding environment, so could be employed for gravity or acceleration mapping, as well as tracking Earth features including ocean and ice flows.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Such precise surveying would also be a step forward for climate modelling, sharpening scientific understanding of phenomena such as the terrestrial water cycle, the mass balance of ice sheets and glaciers and sea-level change.<\/p>\n Quantum clocks and frequency standards<\/b><\/p>\n Similar laser-slowed cold atom systems can serve as the basis of highly precise clocks for positioning, navigation and timing, offering orders of magnitude improvements on the atomic clocks employed by today\u2019s satellite navigation systems. They are also important for fundamental physics experiments.\u00a0<\/p>\n ESA\u2019s atomic clock ensemble in space payload will become the most accurate clock ever flown in orbit when it is brought on board\u00a0the International Space Station in 2025.<\/p>\n Quantum computing<\/b><\/p>\n Quantum computers are unlikely to be flown in space in the near future, but, by harnessing superposition, they promise vastly improved computing power for specific search or optimisation problems.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n This technique could be applied to space-related \u2018hard problems\u2019 such as optimising highly complex mega-constellation operations, high-fidelity simulations of a rocket\u2019s interaction with the atmosphere, or processing Earth observation data to exploit large amounts of information more efficiently.<\/p>\n Precision engineering<\/b><\/p>\n Other areas such as quantum memories, quantum imaging, random number generation and post quantum cryptography are also part of the more than 40 projects planned by ESA\u2019s quantum technology cross-cutting initiative in the coming years.<\/p>\n High quality and precision engineering is an essential element for success; it takes complex optical payloads to manipulate systems at the scale of atoms or photons.\u00a0So ESA\u2019s existing optics and opto-electronics laboratory is also being rehoused and expanded in a new building in the ESTEC technical centre in the Netherlands, to enlarge the scope of support ESA can offer to researchers and industry.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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