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Infleqtion, a global leader in quantum computing and quantum sensing powered by neutral-atom technology, announced NASA has awarded the company a $20 million follow-on contract to continue development of the Quantum Gravity Gradiometer Pathfinder (QGGPf), a mission led by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) that is designed to fly the world's first space-based quantum gravity sensor. The award brings NASA's investment in the program to $40 million and advances the mission into its next phase of hardware development and testing.
"This follow-on award reflects the progress our team has made and marks an important step toward the mission's next phase," said Matt Kinsella, Chief Executive Officer of Infleqtion. "The path from quantum science to a system that can fly in space takes years of engineering, testing, and collaboration. Every milestone brings quantum sensing closer to enabling entirely new ways to observe our planet from orbit."
"There is an enormous amount of potential for quantum technology use cases in space. We are no longer testing the quantum technology itself, but ways we can use it in the space environment," said Dana Anderson, Chief Science Officer at Infleqtion. "As a NASA-led mission with key contributions from U.S. industry, QGGPf is demonstrating how quantum gravity sensing can operate in low Earth orbit and establishing the technical foundation for future generations of space-based instruments."
The QGGPf mission is designed to demonstrate quantum sensor technologies that could transform how Earth’s surface gravity is measured from space. As a technology pathfinder, the mission is expected to help inform the design of future science-grade instruments, representing a major step forward in U.S. leadership in space-based quantum sensing and strategic intelligence.
U.S. Leading Quantum Innovation in Space
This project, conceived by NASA, helps to push the boundaries of frontier science and technology with critical technologies provided by U.S. industry. QGGPf builds on NASA’s long legacy of space-based gravity mapping, such as the GRACE and GRACE-FO missions, and applies Infleqtion’s quantum engineering capabilities to enable a new class of measurement techniques designed specifically for the microgravity environment of space.
By directly measuring subtle variations in Earth’s gravitational field, the mission will demonstrate technologies to help reduce risk for future, high resolution, and quantum gravity instruments. These future systems could enable deeper insights into how surface and underground water, ice, and natural resources shift over time, critical data for understanding planetary health, strengthening national and world-wide resilience, and supporting long-term economic and security planning.
Building the Quantum Space Sensor
QGGPf builds on work done by JPL and Infleqtion on the Cold Atom Lab (CAL) program aboard the International Space Station, and on NASA’s long heritage mapping Earth’s gravitational field through the GRACE missions.
Infleqtion’s role on the QGGPf project includes the design, maturation, and integration of the atomic physics package, the quantum core of the sensor, encompassing its vacuum, laser, and control subsystems. The cold-atom system, based on ultracold rubidium atoms cooled to pico-Kelvin scale temperature, is designed to enable direct gravity gradient measurements from space. As part of the next phase of the contract, Infleqtion will work to build an initial sensor head and electronics engineering development unit and test it at the Einstein Elevator, a unique drop tower microgravity facility in Hannover, Germany.
Foundation for Future Missions
NASA and Infleqtion plan to complete the instrument hardware development over the next three years, followed by a flight demonstration. The work under this phase of the program is expected to be performed through 2027. The mission is expected to launch aboard a low-Earth orbit spacecraft in 2030.
