Project overview
New developments in Quantum Technology have resulted in the ability to cool atoms close to absolute zero using lasers. At these extreme temperatures, laboratory experiments have shown that these cold atoms can be used as ultra-sensitive sensors for measuring gravity. The objective of this project is to take the technology out of the laboratory and build it into a small satellite payload that is capable of producing cold atoms in space. Demonstrating this new technology in space is a vital first step towards realising real instruments that are capable of mapping tiny changes in the strength of gravity across the surface of the earth. The extreme sensitivity brought by cold atom sensors will provide the ability to finely monitor the movement of mass within earth systems. This has multiple applications including accurate monitoring of changes in polar ice mass, ocean currents and sea level. Higher resolution data will lead to the ability to monitor smaller water sources and new underground natural resources which are currently not detectable. Similar technology will also be used for deep space navigation and for providing higher precision timing sources in space.
Staff
Lead researchers
Collaborating research institutes, centres and groups
Research outputs
Diviya Devani, Stephen Maddox, Ryan Renshaw, Nigel Cox, Helen Sweeney, Trevor Cross, Michael Holynski, Raffaele Nolli, Jonathan Winch, Kai Bongs, Karen Holland, David Colebrook, Neil Adams, Kevin Quillien, James Buckle, Anupe Karde, M.C. Farries, Tom Legg, Richard Webb, Corin Gawith, Sam A Berry & Lewis Glynn Carpenter,
2020, CEAS Space Journal, 12(4), 539-549
Type: article
Lewis Glynn Carpenter, Sam A. Berry, Alan Ciaran Gray, James Gates, Peter G.R. Smith & Corin Gawith,
2020, Optics Express, 28(15), 21382-21390
DOI: 10.1364/OE.395566
Type: article
Alan, Ciaran Gray, Jonathan Woods, Hermann Kahle, Lewis Glynn Carpenter, Sam Berry, Anne Tropper, Mircea Guina, Vasileios Apostolopoulos, Peter G.R. Smith & Corin Gawith,
2020, Applied Optics, 59(16), 4921-4926
DOI: 10.1364/AO.387839
Type: article
Alan Ciaran Gray, Lewis Glynn Carpenter, Sam Berry, James Gates, Peter G R Smith & Corin Gawith,
2020, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters, 32(1), 63-66
Type: article
Sam Berry, Lewis Glynn Carpenter, Alan, Ciaran Gray, Peter G.R. Smith & Corin Gawith,
2019, OSA Continuum, 2(12), 3456-3464
Type: article
Lewis Glynn Carpenter, Sam Berry, Rex Bannerman, Alan, Ciaran Gray & Corin Gawith,
2019, Optics Express, 27(17), 24538-24544
DOI: 10.1364/OE.27.024538
Type: article
Alan Ciaran Gray, Lewis Glynn Carpenter, Sam A. Berry, James Gates, Christopher Holmes, Peter G.R. Smith & Corin Gawith,
2019
Type: conference