An atomic clock small enough to fly on a space mission but precise enough to give accurate directions could eliminate the need for 4-20 minute two-way communication delays for Mars missions. Future navigators would send a signal from Earth to a spacecraft. Like its Earthly cousins, the Deep Space Atomic Clock onboard would measure the amount of time it took that signal to reach it. The spacecraft could then calculate its own position and trajectory, essentially giving itself directions.
“Having a clock onboard would enable onboard radio navigation and, when combined with optical navigation, make for a more accurate and safe way for astronauts to be able to navigate themselves,” said Deep Space Atomic Clock Principal Investigator Todd Ely.
This one-way navigation has applications for Mars and beyond. DSN antennas would be able to communicate with multiple missions at a time by broadcasting one signal into space. The new technology could improve the accuracy of GPS on Earth. And multiple spacecraft with Deep Space Atomic Clocks could orbit Mars, creating a GPS-like network that would give directions to robots and humans on the surface.
“The Deep Space Atomic Clock will have the ability to aid in navigation, not just locally but in other planets as well. One way to think of it is as if we had GPS at other planets,” said Eric Burt, the ion clock development lead.
Burt and fellow JPL clock physicists Robert Tjoelker and John Prestage created a mercury ion clock, which maintains its stability in space in the same way as refrigerator-size atomic clocks on Earth. In lab tests, the Deep Space Atomic Clock proved to be 50 times more accurate than GPS clocks. That’s an error of 1 second every 10 million years.
The clock’s demonstration in space will determine whether it can remain stable in orbit. If it does, a Deep Space Atomic Clock could fly on a mission as early as the 2030s. The first step toward self-driving spacecraft that could one day carry humans to other worlds.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.
It must be great to have planetary GPS, without a place to go to..
Google what is the shortest trip to nothing but dust.
I think they should send people that can survive without a GPS.
(do they still exist?)
Yep. Pulsar navigation has a precision of a few kilometers, which for interplanetary travel is completely fine.
But for a planetary GPS, you need your position within a few inches of tolerance.
I was curious about satellite navigation a while back and watched a bunch of videos and one of the things that stuck out was they basically carry digital sextants as one of the sources of information. They use them on ICBMs and even the old stealth B-2 had one that was approximately the size of an R2-D2 unit which was its nickname. I bet those can be basically made now to the size of the lens required. They have chip scale atomic clocks now and I bet the toaster size comes from the shielding. If the price ever gets reasonable on the atomic clocks I am going to make a FHSS comm unit. I also think it would be fun to make a network of SDRs utilizing atomic clocks so you could effortlessly triangulate onto spread spectrum transmitters.
https://www.microsemi.com/product-directory/clocks-frequency-references/3824-chip-scale-atomic-clock-csac
Different scales. Pulsars are for interplanetary navigation. They’re useless if you want to navigate a planetary surface.
Missing the most important point.
This new clock is the size of a toaster but has the accuracy of previous refrigerator sized units.
Leave out that information and there really isn’t a point to this story.
Sadly, it still won’t fit into a wristwatch, so someone planning the most stupidly overspecced $million pointless bling watch will still have to wait.
Wait, I thought they were going to use pulsars as interplanetary GPS, and that didn’t need an atomic clock…