Icy additions on the ISS
NASA’s Quantum Lab on the International Space Station is about the size of a mini fridge, but it allows NASA and international partners to study some of the biggest questions when it comes to physics. It chills atoms to almost absolute zero, making them enter a fifth state of matter.
Jason Williams, is the project scientist for the Cold Atom Lab at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. By studying these atoms at freezing temperatures, he said scientists can better understand how subatomic particles work and potentially question psychics principles.
“As you cool particles more and more, they get slower and slower, and the more that you know how fast something's moving, the less certain you are in its position, or in the universe,” Williams said. “So, if we could cool matter down to absolute zero temperature, we would actually not know where it is within the entire universe.”
In the lab, Williams said the atoms can be cooled to just a tiny fraction above absolute zero. By cooling them to this temperature, scientists can better visualize the atoms and their wavelengths.
“We're actually talking about wavelengths that are on the microns scale, approaching the size of human hair,” Williams said. “So, the wave-like nature of these atoms just absolutely dominates the physics of what we're studying in the system.”
After Artemis, advocates push to send people to Mars
NASA’s Artemis program is returning humans to the lunar surface for the first time in decades. During the launch of Artemis II, when a crew of four flew by the moon, millions of people followed along, from launch to splashdown.
Artemis II and upcoming Artemis missions are sparking public excitement for human space exploration like to places like Mars.
Chris Carberry, the CEO of Explore Mars, said some of these concepts and more are discussed at the Humans to the Moon and Mars Summit, where leaders, scientists and space enthusiasts gather to look at the next era of space exploration.
Carberry said while there is so much public interest in the moon, he said it’s still important to prioritize a human presence on Mars.
“NASA recently mentioned in the recent news conference about their plans for the moon base, and that's terrific, we're excited about that,” Carberry said. “We're also going to talk about making sure that we don't lose sight of Mars. We understand most of the focus needs to be on the moon, because that's our first goal to get there, start building permanence on the surface of the moon, but we also don't want to lose sight of Mars.”
As humans continue to explore the moon, Carberry said lunar missions and research do benefit Mars exploration in the long term.
“Not everything is applicable to Mars, but a lot of it is,” Carberry said. “And there are things we're going to be doing anyway, let's make sure that we deliberately think about it in those terms as we're learning about these things, learning about logistics and other things. Let's make sure that this is part of the program to specifically use it in Mars planning.”
In the end, Carbery said it ultimately comes down to policy. During the current presidential administration, NASA faced several potential budget cuts to science missions and Mars research. Without funding, Carberry said the future of exploration on Mars could be impacted.
“If we don't fund it, others will take it up and take that mantle of leadership and science and innovation, and that will have a direct impact on human exploration as well,” Carberry said. “Because we're going to be losing those areas of understanding of the universe, of planetary science and other areas which directly connect with enabling human sustainability for humans away from our own planet.”
