The Feasibility of Cold-Atom Interferometry in Autonomous Deep-Space Navigation

Autonomous navigation has become increasingly important for deep-space missions, which cannot use GPS and receive limited, delayed tracking from Earth. Inertial navigation systems, aboard a spacecraft itself, offer an alternative, but they drift as errors accumulate over time. This review assesses whether cold-atom interferometry, a sensor with far lower drift than systems currently in use, could support such navigation. It outlines the physics of atom interferometry, the advantage of operating in the microgravity of space, and demonstrations in spaceflight so far. It then considers what would be required to make the technology practical, such as reducing its size, weight, and power demands. An estimate of position drift shows that, although the cold-atom sensor accumulates far less error than a conventional one, it is unlikely to be able to support multi-year autonomous navigation without periodic external corrections. It would therefore need to be paired with position updates rather than used as a standalone navigation system.