Mentioned:
NASA wants to build a quantum gravity sensor to fly in orbit. And now, they’ve just doubled their funding commitment to do it.
What’s happening:
- Infleqtion (NYSE: INFQ) has been awarded a $20M USD follow-on contract from NASA to build and test hardware for the world’s first quantum gravity sensor to fly in orbit
Why it matters:
- Infleqtion is developing a quantum gravity sensor to fly in orbit that is aiming to be able to map Earth’s gravity field with roughly ten times the sensitivity of classical sensors
Going deeper:
- NASA has publicly stated that they are working with Infleqtion to advance the sensor head for gravity maps that could potentially support applications in resource management, navigation and national security
- Infleqtion has been involved in the Quantum Gravity Gradiometer Pathfinder program since it was first unveiled
The intrigue:
- Quantum gravity sensors could potentially identify subsurface water, ice and mineral deposits from orbit measuring small shifts in Earth’s gravity
