NASA’s Cold Atom Lab: Quantum Science and Technology Maturation on the International Space Station

 Jason Williams, CAL Project Scientist and Principal Investigator

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology

 The Cold Atom Laboratory (CAL) launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on May 21, 2018, and has been operating since that time as the world’s first multi-user facility for the study of ultra-cold quantum gases in space. The unique microgravity environment of the ISS is utilized with CAL by a national group of principal investigators to achieve sub-nanokelvin temperature gases, to study and utilize their quantum properties in an environment free from the perturbing force of gravity, and to observe and interact with these gases in the essentially limitless freefall of Earth’s orbit. In addition to the toolbox of quantum-gas capabilities originally built into CAL, an upgrade in 2020 enabled the study of atom interferometry in orbit, and a 2021 upgrade and repair facilitated investigations of the interactions between mixtures of ⁸⁷Rb, ³⁹K, and ⁴¹K and a demonstration of dual-species (⁸⁷Rb - ⁴¹K or ⁸⁷Rb - ³⁹K) atom interferometry. This talk will review the up-to-date quantum gas research explored with CAL and the technical accomplishments to operate, maintain, and upgrade CAL during its tenure in the microgravity environment of the ISS. The research of CAL has broad applications in fundamental physics and precision sensing to open the door for NASA’s future quantum-enabled mission opportunities.

This research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Chemistry Perspectives to Exotic Quantum Phenomena

Abstract: The design and discovery of novel materials exhibiting exotic quantum phenomena are expected to play a pivotal role in advancing next-generation technologies. In this talk, I will present an overview of the research progress made by our group over the past three years, for example, the identification of new quantum magnetic materials under both ambient and high-pressure conditions. Another key aspect of our work involves applying chemical bonding theory to predict metastable high-pressure phases in magnetic semiconducting materials. These predictions have been experimentally validated, providing insight into the underlying physics of these complex systems. Additionally, the development of permanent ferromagnetic materials with extremely large magnetic anisotropy is crucial for future technological applications, such as energy-efficient motors and data storage. Leveraging crystal symmetry principles and structure–property relationships, we have successfully designed new ferromagnetic compounds exhibiting magnetic anisotropy surpassing that of SmCo₅. I will discuss our approach to designing these materials from both experimental and theoretical perspectives, including the integration of machine learning techniques to accelerate discovery.

Key words: Novel quantum materials; High pressure; X-ray and Neutron Scattering

Relevant papers:

1. Boswell, M., Xu, M., Wang, H., Cheng, M., Li, N., Sun, X.F., Zhou, H., Cao, H., Li, M., Xie, W.* Frustrated Magnetism in FeGe₃O₄ with a Chiral Trillium Network., Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2026, accepted.
2. Boswell, M., Xu, M., Hus, S.M., Dos Santos, A.M., Xie, W.* Temperature-Dependent Structural Transition in Cu-Intercalated Trigonal CuYbSe₂. Chemistry of Materials, 2025, 38(1), 328-335.
3. Xu, M., Gonzalez Jimenez, J.L., Jose, G.C., Boonkird, A., Xing, C., Harrod, C., Li, X., Zhou, H.D., Ke, X., Bi, W., Li, M., Xie, W.* Spin–Flop and Metamagnetic Transition in Monoclinic Eu₄Bi₆Se₁₃. Chemistry of Materials, 2025, 37(5), 1935-1941.
4. Xu, M., Lee, Y., Ke, X., Kang, M.C., Boswell, M., Bud’ko, S.L., Zhou, L., Ke, L., Li, M., Canfield, P.C., Xie, W.* Giant uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy in SmCrGe₃. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2024, 146(44), 30294-30302.
5. Xie, W.* The search for superconductivity just got wider. Nature, 2024, 509-510.