How Will Quantum Technology Help Find Water Worlds?

June 11, 2024

NASA scientists at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory have created cutting-edge quantum technology tools that will be used to look for “water worlds” in other parts of the solar system. The new technology comes at a time when people are becoming more interested in finding drinkable water from other planets, which are thought to be home to alien life forms.

The Quest for Extraterrestrial Liquid Water

As long as people have been looking for life beyond Earth, they have been told to “Follow the Water.” Astrobiologists study flowing water first because they think it is necessary for life as we know it. At the center of this search have been Enceladus and Europa, two cold moons of Saturn and Jupiter. It is thought that these moons have huge oceans below their icy surfaces, which would make them great places for future study missions.

Challenges in Water Detection

Using normal tools like cameras and radar, which can’t go through deep ice, to look under the thick ice layers of these moons is hard. Scientists will have to use other ways to find these hidden oceans until lander or rover missions that can drill or melt through the ice are made possible.

Groundbreaking Features of Quantum Sensors

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory said that these improved tools not only help scientists find new things, but they are also smaller and cheaper. This means that smaller platforms like CubeSats can be used to do flagship-level science. Spin-nuclear quantum interactions have made it possible for these devices to keep their accuracy over time, which is an important trait for the success and longevity of space missions.

About Water worlds

Characteristics of Water Worlds: Water worlds, also called ocean planets, are celestial bodies that are mostly or completely covered in water. In contrast to Earth’s relatively shallow seas, these worlds may have huge, deep oceans that could reach hundreds of kilometers in length. Water worlds can have a mixing of water and ammonia instead of just water, which would change the way their geology and chemistry work.
Notable Examples: About 600 light years away, Kepler-22b is a possible option for being a water world with a global ocean. The huge pressure in these deep seas could support strange life forms that are used to living in places with high pressure and low temperatures.
Geological and Biological Implications: High pressure could stop life from developing as it does on Earth, but it could also support unique life forms in harsh circumstances. At great ocean depths, high pressure could cause “Ice VII,” a type of ice that forms at pressures much higher than those in Earth’s seas, to form.

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