{"id":17425,"date":"2022-01-27T17:21:51","date_gmt":"2022-01-27T09:21:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasas-jet-propulsion-lab-uses-microsofts-azure-quantum-to-ease-deep-space-networks-traffic-jam\/"},"modified":"2022-01-27T17:21:51","modified_gmt":"2022-01-27T09:21:51","slug":"nasas-jet-propulsion-lab-uses-microsofts-azure-quantum-to-ease-deep-space-networks-traffic-jam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasas-jet-propulsion-lab-uses-microsofts-azure-quantum-to-ease-deep-space-networks-traffic-jam\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Lab uses Microsoft\u2019s Azure Quantum to ease Deep Space Network\u2019s traffic jam"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full-width\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"432\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/220126-jpl3-630x432.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-671288\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/220126-jpl3-630x432.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/220126-jpl3-1260x864.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/220126-jpl3-768x527.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/220126-jpl3.jpg 1306w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption>NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory monitors the Deep Space Network from Mission Control. (JPL Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Microsoft has demonstrated how quantum-inspired algorithms can help smooth out Seattle\u2019s snarled traffic, but can they solve NASA\u2019s interplanetary data traffic jam?<\/p>\n<p>Initial results from a project at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory suggests they can.<\/p>\n<p>Microsoft\u2019s Azure Quantum team says it\u2019s been working with JPL to optimize the management of communications windows for the Deep Space Network. The network relies on giant radio antennas in California, Spain and Australia to handle communications with more than 30 space probes, including the James Webb Space Telescope and NASA\u2019s Mars rovers.<\/p>\n<p>Optimizing the schedule for communicating with all those probes requires intensive computer resources, especially because the DSN is having to deal with increasing demands for high-bandwidth data transmissions. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cCapacity is a big pressure,\u201d JPL\u2019s Michael Levesque, deputy director of the DSN, said in a recent news release.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Where in the World is the DSN? A Virtual Tour of NASA\u2019s Deep Space Communications Network\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PIkmm8f_4DE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Fortunately, schedule optimization is one of the sweet spots for Azure Quantum\u2019s algorithms. Such algorithms are inspired by the principles of quantum computing \u2014&nbsp;in which information doesn\u2019t necessarily take the form of rigid ones and zeroes, but can instead reflect a range of values simultaneously during processing. The algorithms are run on classical computers rather than on quantum computers, which are still in their infancy.<\/p>\n<p>In a blog posting, Azure Quantum reported progress in its effort to streamline JPL\u2019s scheduling process. At the beginning of the project, the team recorded run times of two hours or more to produce a schedule. When quantum-inspired optimization algorithms were added to the mix, that time was reduced to 16 minutes. A custom solution handled the scheduling job in even less time \u2014 as little as two minutes.<\/p>\n<p>The initial round of development produced a scheduling tool with a limited feature set, but Azure Quantum says it\u2019s continuing to work on the project to incorporate a broader set of requirements.<\/p>\n<p>JPL\u2019s schedulers aren\u2019t the only ones who stand to benefit from Azure Quantum\u2019s optimization efforts. In 2019, Microsoft worked with Ford to reduce congestion in a simulation of the Seattle area\u2019s traffic flow. In 2020, Toyota Tsusho took part in an experiment aimed at optimizing the timing of traffic signals. And last month, Microsoft and KPMG said they would test Azure Quantum\u2019s capability to handle a wide range of real-world optimization problems.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory monitors the Deep Space Network from Mission Control. (JPL Photo) Microsoft has demonstrated how quantum-inspired algorithms can help smooth out Seattle\u2019s snarled traffic, but can they solve NASA\u2019s interplanetary data traffic jam? Initial results from a project at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory suggests they can. Microsoft\u2019s Azure Quantum team says it\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4668,2523,4017,4669,4445],"class_list":["post-17425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-azure-quantum","tag-deep-space-network","tag-microsoft","tag-nasa-jpl","tag-quantum-computing"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17425"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17425\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}