No larger than a toaster oven, the instrument will be tested in Earth orbit for one year, with the goal of being ready for future missions to other worlds. NASA's Deep Space Atomic Clock, the first GPS-like technology for deep space, started its one-year space mission on Friday. Credit: General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems › Larger view . NASA.gov brings you the latest images, videos and news from America's space agency. The Deep Space Atomic Clock is one of two dozen spacecraft launching on the June 22 flight, which is known as STP-2 because it's being conducted for the U.S. Air Force's Space Test Program.
The Deep Space Atomic Clock (DSAC) project plans to develop a small, low-mass atomic clock based on mercury-ion trap technology and demonstrate it in space, providing the unprecedented accuracy and stability needed for the next-generation deep space navigation and radio science.
If the technology demonstration proves successful, similar atomic clocks will be used to navigate the self-flying spacecraft. Built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the Deep Space Atomic Clock is a technology demonstration that will help spacecraft navigate autonomously through deep space. It is orders of magnitude more stable than existing navigation clocks, and has been refined to limit drift of no more than 1 nanosecond in 10 days.
The Deep Space Atomic Clock (DSAC) is a miniaturized, ultra-precise mercury-ion atomic clock for precise radio navigation in deep space. If successful, clocks like it will be able to provide directions to deep space missions, much as GPS helps with navigation on Earth. “The fact that the energy difference between these orbits is such a precise and stable value is really the key ingredient for atomic clocks,” said Eric Burt, an atomic clock physicist at JPL . Get the latest updates on NASA missions, watch NASA TV live, and learn about our quest to reveal the unknown and benefit all humankind. Develop advanced prototype (‘Demo Unit’) mercury-ion atomic clock for navigation/science in deep space and Earth • Perform year-long demonstration in space beginning Spring 2019 – advancing to TRL 7 • Focus on maturing the new technology – ion trap and optical systems – other system components (i.e.
But it is the mercury-ion atomic clock, developed at Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), which has had most attention. The clock is ticking: A technology demonstration that could transform the way humans explore space is active. The Deep Space Atomic Clock won't be subject to such environmental changes, according to NASA, and so will be 50 times more stable than the clocks used on GPS satellites. The Deep Space Atomic Clock won't be subject to such environmental changes, according to NASA, and so will be 50 times more stable than the clocks used on GPS satellites. The Deep Space Atomic Clock has the potential to solve a bunch of our current space navigation challenges. The Deep Space Atomic Clock is one of two dozen spacecraft launching on the June 22 flight, which is known as STP-2 because it's being conducted for the U.S. Air Force's Space Test Program. After successfully turning on this week, the new kind of atomic clock starts its one-year experiment in space. Developed by NASA ’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the Deep Space Atomic Clock is a serious upgrade to the satellite-based atomic clocks that, for example, enable the GPS on your phone.. Site Manager: Jon Nelson Webmasters: Anil Natha, Luis Espinoza Webmasters: Anil Natha, Luis Espinoza The Deep Space Atomic Clock uses mercury atoms; a different frequency is necessary to make those electrons change levels, and that frequency will be consistent for all mercury atoms.