Scientists Just Launched the First Quantum Computer Into Space
A tiny quantum computer housed in a satellite is now in orbit around Earth, ScienceNews reports, residing some 330 miles above our planet after being launched aboard a SpaceX rocket last month.
It's a trailblazing experiment intended to test how well these delicate devices can survive the extreme conditions of space, where they could allow satellites to quickly and efficiently perform intense calculations on their own.
The experiment is also a ripe opportunity to put some fundamental physics principles to the test, according to project lead Philip Walter, a physicist at the University of Vienna.
"Being the first here also means we have the duty and privilege to investigate if things operate in the way as we'd be used to on the ground," Walther told ScienceNews.
Built in just eleven days, the idea behind the device was to "shrink a whole quantum laboratory down to the size of a satellite payload," Walter said in a statement before the launch. It's safe to say that they delivered on that premise. At a size befitting its quantum ambitions, the finished device is less than a gallon in volume, weighs just 20 pounds and some change, and will on average use only 10 watts of power, and no more than 30.
The potential — and we stress potential — advantage of using a quantum computer in space is that it can perform "edge computing," or process data directly on the satellite. Otherwise, that data needs to be beamed down to Earth, put through calculations on a ground-based computer, and sent back up, which expends extra time and energy.
Most importantly, they can theoretically perform specific types of calculations faster than classical computers, making them an enticing option in fields such as machine learning. Or at least, that's what they promise to do eventually. This device in particular is a photonic quantum computer, which uses individual photons — the massless particles that make up light — to represent units of information called qubits. A qubit, unlike a classical, electron-based bit, can be a 1 or 0 at the same time using a spooky quantum property known as superposition.
As an added bonus, quantum computers have shown that they can potentially be more energy efficient. That's great news for satellite missions, which operate with extremely tight energy budgets. The fuel they launch with is essentially what they work with.
Quantum computing in space may sound like a no-brainer, then — we've been testing quantum communications up there for years now — but it's important to remember that it still highly experimental tech with a whole lot unrealized potential and few applications outside of a laboratory. Though there have been pretenders to the throne in the past, no one has yet achieved clear "quantum supremacy," a point where a quantum computer can perform calculations that a classical one can't.
One of the biggest issues in the field is that a quantum computer typically require a meticulously controlled environment to function, because even the slightest disturbance can cause a qubit to lose its quantum state, and thus, its information. In space, where there's no protective atmosphere, the computer's electronics are at the mercy of extreme temperature swings and blasts of cosmic radiation.
The good news is that Walter's team has confirmed that its hardware is now operational, he told ScienceNews. Its long-term resilience will have to be borne out, but it's an encouraging start.
Once its work is finished, the satellite will make a controlled re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, where it will meet a fiery — but safe — end. Until then, it'll hopefully keep itself busy by taking images of Earth and crunching the numbers.
More on quantum computing: Chinese Hackers Use Quantum Computer to Break Military Grade Encryption
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