Quantum Sensing Company Wins Space Agency Contracts

A company that develops quantum diamond magnetometers that provide accurate readings from space has won contracts with two government space exploration agencies.

The European Space Agency (ESA) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) have both contracted SBQuantum to provide its hardware.

ESA plans to assess the reliability and accuracy of SBQuantum’s quantum diamond magnetometer technology in space and how it could be deployed on a satellite.

One application would be to study Earth and its magnetic environment, such as for monitoring magnetic storms, which can disrupt navigation and communications.

The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) plans to test the magnetometer at an altitude of 25 miles as part of its Stratos stratospheric balloon program The program will test the instrument’s ability to collect precise data in temperatures as low as minus 76 Fahrenheit and low-pressure environments, while also being exposed to radiation.

The CSA also plans to investigate the capability of magnetic field-based positioning using a quantum diamond magnetometer, which cannot be jammed, compared to traditional GPS.

“These contracts are further evidence of the tremendous potential of the quantum diamond magnetometers we are commercializing at SBQuantum,” said SBQuantum CEO and co-founder David Roy-Guay.

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“Years of investment, research and development are now beginning to pay off, as leading organizations in space exploration are acknowledging that our hardware has the potential to provide an important advantage over existing technologies. Furthermore, these sensors can be deployed for a range of applications, and therefore provide significant value to the user at a fraction of the cost of the legacy technologies currently in use.”

SBQuantum is also a finalist in the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s MagQuest Challenge to determine if its quantum diamond magnetometer is suitable for mapping and monitoring the Earth’s magnetic field.

Confirming the durability and accuracy of these devices could pave the way for space-based applications including attitude control and guiding for rovers on the surface of other planets and mapping minerals under the surface of the moon. They can also be mounted on small cube satellites to gather data about the Earth’s magnetic field and geophysics.