Workshop on Space Quantum Communications and Networks

NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program and the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) co-sponsored a two-day workshop in January 2020 on space quantum communications and networks. The workshop was hosted by the Space Sciences Laboratory of the University of California, Berkeley. About 70 invited technical and program leaders from academia, industry, and government agencies defined science goals and technology requirements for a future NASA “quantum mission” that is fully aligned with the National Quantum Initiative (NQI) vision for a space-ground quantum network. This NQI vision is also a strategic milestone in SCaN’s plans for NASA’s space-based quantum communications and networks.

The overall technical objectives of the Workshop were to (i) critically evaluate various mission design concepts, (ii) converge on a small subset of quantum communication and networking experiments suitable for space applications, and (iii) identify key technology gaps and promote new and emerging technologies to enable NASA’s “quantum mission” within a 5-year horizon.