NASA's fridge-sized quantum lab on the ISS expands ultracold-atom research in orbit

A refurbished upgrade to NASA's Cold Atom Laboratory aboard the International Space Station—about the size of a mini-fridge—lets scientists study ultracold atoms and Bose-Einstein condensates in microgravity, enabling longer observation of quantum behaviors and paving the way for future space-based quantum technologies in timing, navigation, and gravity sensing.