80 Insight | Space vehicles Going quantum Another approach being developed is quantum clocks. These are the size of a rack unit (1U) at the moment, but scientists at the University of Birmingham have successfully tested a new technique for generating cold atoms that can be used for a smaller quantum clock. The technique, developed by Aquark Technologies in Southampton, uses a laser cooling method called Supermolasses, which does not need an applied magnetic field, as required by other cold ion systems. This lack of a magnetic field means a quantum clock can be made more portable and robust, and therefore easier to use commercially. The tests at the University of Birmingham are the first time that the Supermolasses method has been independently achieved and they were carried out as part of an Innovate UK-funded project called Gravity Array. Another way to get accurate timing is to use the universe itself. The DeepSpacePULSE project in Spain is testing the viability of a more efficient and autonomous navigation system using pulsars as clocks. Astrophysicist Nanda Rea, based at Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) in Spain, and her team locate compact pulsar stars as the basis of a navigation system. These can be used as perfect clocks with unprecedented stability, producing regular pulses of X-rays, effectively making them a GPS system in space. A navigation system has already been developed and tested on the International Space Station by NASA. To enable the use of an X-ray pulsar navigation system in deep-space missions potentially lasting 100 years, the DeepSpacePulse team will work on a more precise, autonomous, light navigation unit, expected to be the size of a microwave oven and weigh about 10 kg. Looking forwards Space systems take many years to launch, which makes the adoption of newer technologies such as AI and advanced navigation systems for autonomous operation slower. For example, the Dream Chaser has spent a decade in development, but in 2025 it will provide reusable, low acceleration, autonomous deliveries from orbit. This is highlighted by the missions to planets further out in the solar system, such as Jupiter Clipper. Tackling the challenges of intense radiation for power systems has been a key issue with the programme, which, over the next five years, will reveal new insights into the icy moon of Europa. The next generation of autonomous space systems will take advantage of photonic navigation systems, even using the X-rays from pulsar stars to provide the necessary timing data. October/November 2024 | Uncrewed Systems Technology The solar array deployed on the Europa Clipper (Image courtesy of NASA) The power systems on the Europa Clipper are at risk from the intense radiation around Jupiter (Image courtesy of NASA)
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