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Atomic clock
NASA is about to send its "atomic clock into deep space" into the void of space – where it will help the spacecraft determine where it is, like a cosmic GPS system.
The system, the size of a toaster, is expected to be launched aboard a SpaceX Heavy Falcon rocket on June 22, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. It measures the time it takes for a signal to pass from one point to another and this information can inform a spaceship where it is located.
Count the atoms
The project is the first atomic clock of its kind to fly beyond Earth's orbit, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory – and could eventually help spacecraft navigate much more than atomic clocks in Earth orbit. . But it will first spend a whole year on earth orbit before venturing further into space.
"An extinct clock even a single second could make all the difference between landing on Mars and missing it by miles," reads NASA in a statement. "During ground testing, the atomic clock in deep space has been revealed up to 50 times more stable than the atomic clocks of GPS satellites. If the mission can prove this stability in space, it will be one of the most accurate clocks in the universe. "
READ MORE: Five things to know about NASA's deep space atomic clock [JPL]
More about atomic clocks: A new quantum atomic clock could finally reveal the nature of dark matter
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