For The First Time, Scientists Have Performed Atom Interferometry in Space 14 APRIL 2021 To make some of the most precise measurements we can of the world around us, scientists tend to go small - right down to the atomic scale, using a technique called atom interferometry.
Now, for the first time, scientists have performed this kind of measurement in space, using a sounding rocket specially designed to carry science payloads into low-Earth space. It's a significant step towards being able to perform matter-wave interferometry in space, for science applications that range from fundamental physics to navigation. "We have established the technological basis for atom interferometry on board of a sounding rocket and demonstrated that such experiments are not only possible on Earth, but also in space," said physicist Patrick Windpassinger of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany.