#atomic clock

There's a new record holder for the most accurate clock in the world. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have improved their atomic clock based on a trapped aluminum ion. Part of the latest wave of optical atomic clocks, it can perform timekeeping with 19 decimal places of accuracy. Optical clocks are typically evaluated on two levels—accuracy (how close a clock comes to measuring the ideal "true" time, also known as systematic uncertainty) and stability (how efficiently a clock can measure time, related to statistical uncertainty). This new record in accuracy comes out of 20 years of continuous improvement of the aluminum ion clock. Beyond its world-best accuracy, 41% greater than the previous record, this new clock is also 2.6 times more stable than any other ion clock. Reaching these levels has meant carefully improving every aspect of the clock, from the laser to the trap and the vacuum chamber.

10:42 AM EDT May 21, 2026:

Monster Magnet - "Atomic Clock" From the album Powertrip (June 16, 1998)

Traveling the solar system could one day be as easy as taking a bus to work. Scientists envision self-driving spaceships ferrying astronauts through deep space, and GPS-like systems guiding visitors across the terrains of other planets and moons. But for those futuristic navigation schemes, spacecraft and satellites would need to be equipped with clocks that keep time with extreme precision — more precise than any timepiece ever sent to space.

A prototype of that clock is scheduled to launch on June 24 for a test flight.

NASA’s Deep Space Atomic Clock, or DSAC for short, counts off the seconds with ticks that are about 50 times more uniform than those of atomic clocks onboard GPS satellites. That’s on par with the ground-based atomic clocks used for the agency’s Deep Space Network — the cadre of earthbound facilities that use radio antennas to communicate with missions throughout the solar system. But unlike those refrigerator-sized timepieces, the toaster-sized DSAC is small enough to carry aboard a spacecraft.

Outfitted on future spaceships or satellites, this mini atomic clock could “completely change the way we navigate spacecraft through deep space,” Jill Seubert, deputy principal investigator for the project, said June 10 in a news conference.

After the prototype launches from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla., researchers will monitor its performance in low-Earth orbit for one year. Here’s a preview of what the clock could mean for future spacefaring.

New larger Atomic Starburst Clock in 1:6th scale with real metal spikes.

In our preparation to go to Mars, there is one issue scientists are trying to solve - how can astronauts navigate themselves when they are going deeper into space than ever before? 

Right now, spacecrafts are 100% controlled by mission control on Earth. Only scientists on Earth can tell the location of our spacecrafts in space.  Astronauts are dependent on receiving directions from giant antenna on Earth broadcasting the information to them. But there is a problem - the further away they are, the longer is the delay in the communication. So, this would make it very difficult for astronauts to land on Mars when there is a delay and they need to make slight adjustments in order to not miss the planet completely. So how are they planning to fix this? 

WITH AN ATOMIC CLOCK IN SPACE! Basically, this would allow spacecrafts to navigate themselves, would get rid of that need for two-way communication and in short - it would be like getting a GPS on other planets.

This is the first step to self-driving spacecrafts. You think self driving cars are cool? That ain't even the half of it.