NASA Says Next-generation Atomic Clock will be Sent to Space Later This Year

NASA has revealed its plan to send a next-generation atomic clock into space later this year. The Deep Space Atomic Clock has been developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory with an aim to assist in safe navigation of spacecraft during future deep space missions.

According to NASA, the new atomic clock is the most advanced of its type. It is smaller, lighter and more precise than any atomic clock sent in space before.

Last month, integration of the clock on to the Surrey Orbital Test Bed spacecraft was monitored by JPL engineers at Surrey Satellite Technology in Englewood, Colorado.

“Most spacecraft are tracked using ‘two-way’ methods: the ground-based antenna ‘pings’ the spacecraft and waits for the signal to return. By measuring how long the signal takes to travel, the distance to the spacecraft can be calculated,” NASA wrote on its website.

“A navigation team then processes this information to determine the spacecraft’s flight path and determine if any course corrections are required.”

“The clock enables “one-way” tracking, where the spacecraft doesn’t need to send the signal back to Earth. The tracking measurements could be taken onboard and processed with a spacecraft-based navigation system to determine the path and whether any maneuvers are needed to stay on course.”

“This will be a key advance for safely navigating future human exploration of the solar system by providing astronauts with their position and velocity when they need it. It will lighten the load on the antennas in NASA’s Deep Space Network, allowing more spacecraft to be tracked with a single antenna.”

NASA says the new atomic clock would improve “the precision and quantity of the radio data used by scientists for determining a planet’s gravity field and probing its atmosphere.”

This project is being financed by the Technology Demonstration Mission in NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD).

Established in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration or NASA is the space agency of United States of America and is responsible for the civilian space program and aeronautics/aerospace research. Since being established in 1958, NASA has led US in its space exploration efforts, including the Skylab space station, the Apollo moon-landing mission, and Space Shuttle. NASA also shares its data with various national and international organizations.

In the past 50 years, NASA has carried out a variety of manned and unmanned spaceflight programs. Unmanned programs included launching the first American artificial satellites into Earth orbit, sending scientific probes to different planets such as Mars and Venus, and others. Manned programs included sending the first Americans into low Earth orbit (LEO), accomplishing successful human landing on Moon in 1969 through Apollo program, and developing semi-reusable LEO Space Shuttle and space station.

Currently, NASA is working in association with Russia and European Space Agency to manage the International Space Station. The agency is also overseeing the development of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, Commercial Crew vehicles, and the Space Launch System.