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CAL

Cold Atom Laboratory

A facility aboard the International Space Station, the Cold Atom Laboratory, will makes use of the space station's microgravity environment to study quantum phenomena in ways that aren’t possible on Earth.

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Cold Atom Lab Foreground

Mission Statistics

Launch Date

May 21, 2018

Type

Instrument

Target

Stars and Galaxies

Status

Current

About the mission

The Cold Atom Laboratory launched to the International Space Station in March 2018 and was installed a few months later. The facility uses lasers to cool atoms down to less than a degree above absolute zero. When clouds of atoms reach these ultracold temperatures they may form a fifth state of matter called a Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC). Distinct from gasses, liquids, solids and plasmas, a BEC makes the quantum properties of atoms macroscopic, so scientists can more easily observe them. Cold Atom Lab produced the first BECs in Earth orbit. 

Multiple groups are conducting experiments inside Cold Atom Lab, which is operated completely remotely from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The primary goal of Cold Atom Lab is to utilize the microgravity environment to open up new avenues of fundamental research into the nature of atoms and quantum science. Many technologies that impact our everyday lives are based on quantum phenomena, including transistors and microchips. 

Major results:

  • Cold Atom Lab becomes first facility to produce a Bose-Einstein Condensate in Earth orbit
  • Cold Atom Lab science featured in the journal Nature
  • Cold Atom Lab hardware is upgraded with the help of an augmented reality headset on the International Space Station

Mission Highlights

May 21, 2018

Launch

CAL was launched on May 21, 2018, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

May 2018

Installation

CAL was installed on the International Space Station in late May.

July 2018

Fifth State of Matter Produced

Using ultracold atoms, the lab produces a fifth state of matter called a Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC). This is the first time a BEC has been produced in Earth orbit.
Target: Earth
Cold Atom Laboratory

The Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) consists of two standardized containers that will be installed on the International Space Station. The larger container is called a "quad locker," and the smaller container is called a "single locker." The quad locker contains CAL's physics package, or the compartment where CAL will produce clouds of ultra-cold atoms. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Tyler Winn

About the size of a mini fridge, the Cold Atom Lab Science Instrument (left) contains the Science Module, which cools atoms to nearly absolute zero. The smaller box on the right contains additional hardware.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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