NASA's Cold Atom Laboratory: Five Years of Quantum Science Operations in Space
Abstract
NASA's Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) is a multi-user science facility for studying quantum gases in the microgravity environment of the International Space Station. The persistent microgravity environment of the ISS enables research with ultracold atoms in a temperature regime and force-free environment inaccessible to terrestrial laboratories, unlocking the potential to observe novel quantum phenomena. CAL launched to the ISS in May 2018, and has operated continuously since then as the worlds first multi-user quantum science facility in space. CAL is the first experimental facility to produce the fifth state of matter known as a Bose-Einstein condensate with ultracold rubidium atoms on orbit and, more recently, with mixtures of rubidium and potassium. We present an overview of CAL's design and operation, review the scientific contributions to date, and discuss recent on-orbit upgrades to extend its useful mission lifetime and provide enhanced science. We also consider opportunities for follow-on missions informed by lessons learned from over five years of operation on orbit.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2305.13285,
title = {NASA's Cold Atom Laboratory: Five Years of Quantum Science Operations in Space},
author = {Kamal Oudrhiri and James M. Kohel and Nate Harvey and James R. Kellogg and David C. Aveline and Roy L. Butler and Javier Bosch-Lluis and John L. Callas and Leo Y. Cheng and Arvid P. Croonquist and Walker L. Dula and Ethan R. Elliott and Jose E. Fernandez and Jorge Gonzales and Raymond J. Higuera and Shahram Javidnia and Sandy M. Kwan and Norman E. Lay and Dennis K. Lee and Irena Li and Gregory J. Miles and Michael T. Pauken and Kelly L. Perry and Leah E. Phillips and Sarah K. Rees and Matteo S. Sbroscia and Christian Schneider and Robert F. Shotwell and Gregory Y. Shin and Cao V. Tran and Michel E. William and Oscar Yang and Nan Yu and Robert J Thompson and Jason R. Williams and Diane C. Malarik and DeVon W. Griffin and Bradley M. Carpenter and Michael P. Robinson and Kirt Costello},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2305.13285},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
21 pages, 7 figures. Presented at SpaceOps 2023 Conference