Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2025;12(1):56.
doi: 10.1140/epjqt/s40507-025-00360-3. Epub 2025 May 21.

Quantum sensing for NASA science missions

Carolyn R Mercer  1 , Erica N Montbach  2 , Steven D Christe  3 , Robert M Connerton  3 , Denise A Podolski  1 , Michael P Robinson  1 , Mario R Perez  1
Affiliations
Review

Quantum sensing for NASA science missions

Carolyn R Mercer et al. EPJ Quantum Technol. 2025.

Abstract

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) develops a broad range of technologies to support space-based quantum sensing and communications, uses the space environment to study fundamental quantum processes to advance our knowledge of physics, and develops algorithms to attack complex science problems that might be solved using quantum computing. This paper describes quantum sensors that NASA has flown on space missions, investments that NASA is making to develop quantum sensors, and possible approaches to employ quantum sensing to study the attributes of distant stars and planets, the Sun, Earth, and fundamental properties of matter.

Keywords: Earth science; Quantum sensing; Remote sensing; Space science; Spacecraft.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interestsThe authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mariner IV Vector Magnetometer Engineering Development Unit. (a) Schematic of the magnetometer head, (b) Optical pumping unit and magnetic sweep coil [1]
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mariner IV data reconstructed by NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) engineers in 1964 showing the first image of the Mars surface. Image Credit: NASA JPL
Figure 3
Figure 3
Left: Cold Atom Lab facility on the International Space Station. Right: Physics package at the heart of CAL with the atom interferometer optical platform mount on top of an ultra-high vacuum science cell. Image credit: NASA JPL
Figure 4
Figure 4
A 64-pixel SNSPD array capable of counting over 1 billion photons per second with time resolution below 100 ps. The array is mounted in a chip carrier and can be efficiently coupled to a 5-meter telescope. Image Credit: NASA JPL
Figure 5
Figure 5
MKID array: 140 X 146 pixels, 150 um pitch, 22 X 22 mm. Image credit: NASA JPL
Figure 6
Figure 6
Mosaic of interacting galaxies was taken with ARCONS. The inset shows the same field of view from the Hubble Space Telescope using multiple exposures through color filters. Image credit: Hubble Space Telescope (left), ARCONS (right), overall image JPL
Figure 7
Figure 7
Left: Molybdenum/Gold Transition Edge Sensor built for BETTII balloon-borne interferometer experiment [20]. Right: Packaged detector wafer including a 32x40 BUG TES array for the PIPER mission [21]
Figure 8
Figure 8
HIRMES test package mounted for characterization [22]
Figure 9
Figure 9
Supernova Remnant N132D spectral data from the Resolve spectrometer on XRISM. The horizontal axis shows X-ray energy in keV; the vertical axis shows relative X-ray brightness. The image at right was captured by XRISM’s Xtend instrument. Image credit: JAXA/NASA/XRISM
Figure 10
Figure 10
Photo of the XRISM/Resolve quantum-calorimeter array in its storage container prior to integration into the instrument. The 6x6 array, 5 mm on a side, consists of independent detectors – each one a thermally isolated silicon thermistor with a HgTe absorber. Image credit: NASA GSFC
Figure 11
Figure 11
Deep Space Atomic Clock. Image credit: NASA JPL
Figure 12
Figure 12
The 400,000 pixel superconducting camera based on superconducting-nanowire single photon detectors. Credit: Adam McCaughan/NIST
Figure 13
Figure 13
Sketch of a notional concept for a single source design of the pathfinder payload based on a Rubidium source. (Credit: NASA JPL)
Figure 14
Figure 14
Mission concept of Rydberg Radar in view of multiple SoOp navigation and communication satellites
Figure 15
Figure 15
A QuARREM-based microwave radiometer flight concept. Image credit: ColdQuanta Inc. [48]
Figure 16
Figure 16
Lunar gravity and surface motion measured by a free-falling laser cooled atomic cloud in a vacuum chamber Image credit: NASA JPL
Figure 17
Figure 17
Illustration of the proposed atomic drag-free accelerometer (ADA) for non-gravitational drag force measurements in a typical radiometric link for spacecraft orbit determination and planetary gravity measurements. Image credit: NASA JPL
Figure 18
Figure 18
SiCMag sensor and the 3-axis, 3D printed Helmholtz coil system used to modulate and null the external field (Image credit: NASA JPL)
Figure 19
Figure 19
Magneto-inductive communications can penetrate through conductive media but the data rate is low, while radio frequency communications are less effective in slush but offer high data rate; thus a combination of these two technologies has the potential for most efficient communication. Image credit: NASA JPL
Figure 20
Figure 20
Artist’s depiction of a solar sail with quantum dot spectrometers printed directly on the sail surface to form a monolithic, lightweight structure. Image credit: NASA
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Slocum RE, Reilly FN. Low Field Helium Magnetometer for Space Applications. IEEE Trans Nucl Sci 1963;10(1). https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/4323257. Accessed 28 Dec 2024.
    1. Smith EJ, Jones DE, Davis L Jr, Coleman PJ Jr. Magnetometer Experiment. NASA News Release 65-117-B. 1965. Magnetometer experiment - NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS). Accessed 30 Dec 2024.
    1. Connor BV. Space Magnetics: the Mariner V Magnetometer Experiment. IEEE Trans Magn. 1968;MAG–4:3. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=1066331. Accessed 28 Dec 2024.
    1. Smith EJ, Connor BV, Foster GT Jr. Measuring the Magnetic Fields of Jupiter and the Outer Solar System. IEEE Trans Magn. 1975;MAG–11:4. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=1058779. Accessed 28 Dec 2024.
    1. Aveline DC, Williams JR, Elliott ER, Dutenhoffer C, Kellogg JR, Kohel JM, Lay NE, Oudrhiri K, Shotwell RF, Yu N, Thompson RJ. Observation of Bose-Einstein condensates in an Earth-orbiting research lab. Nature. 2020;582:193–7. 10.1038/s41586-020-2346-1. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources