A record quantum communication test used a microsatellite to connect terrestrial stations in China and South Africa. THE Global quantum internet was closer to reality.
One quantum microsatellite created a safe connection between land stations in China and South Africa, sharing quantum data encrypted at a record distance from 12,900 kilometers.
The record, which took place in October 2024, was revealed in a study this Wednesday in Nature.
As engineers detail, the miniaturized satellite aboard the Jinan-1 microsatellite weighed only 23 kilograms, about 10 times less than the payload of the previous experience. Here, the researchers used the quantum states of the photons to produce secret keys to encryp and dismantle data.
As details A, the keys were used to codify images – Photographs of the Great Wall of China and the University of Stellenboschin South Africa-and then transmitted between the Jinan-1 satellite and several terrestrial stations using laser and telescopes.
The investigation team, led by Jianwei Pan From China’s University of Science and Technology, he carried out this process of distributing quantum keys 20 times, including the record test of 12,900 kilometers.
The great hope of this progress is the fact that Microsatellites of this type may be part of real communication networks – namely a future quantum internet.
“This can be seen as the first practical case of using quantum communication and a first step towards quantum information networks“, He praised, to New Scientist, Laurent De Parny Da Thales Alenia Space.
“Chinese activities will surely help develop a second generation of small satellites for the quantum internet,” he added.
The jinan-1 was originally released in 2022 and, by 2025, China plans to launch two or three quantum satellites. Other countries are predicting the launch of their own quantum satellites by 2026. French Thales Alenia Space, for example, is leading one of these projects.
