Recent reports indicate that scientists from China and South Africa recently joined forces to create the world’s longest intercontinental quantum satellite communication link, spanning 12,900 kilometers through the border of both countries.
This feat utilized China’s Jinan-1 quantum microsatellite in low Earth orbit, the first quantum satellite communication link established in the Southern Hemisphere.
Reports further indicate that scientists involved in the project connected the aforementioned microsatellite from Stellenbosch University in South Africa to a facility in Beijing maintained by researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China.
The scientists used satellites to broadcast two photos, one of the Great Wall of China and one of the Stellenbosch University campus, over 12,900 kilometers.
“This achievement serves as a strong foundation for our future plans of launching multiple microsatellites and establishing a vast network of [optical ground stations], leading us towards the realization of a practical quantum constellation,” a scientist said as quoted by the media.
Findings related to the project, as reported by SpaceinAfrica were published in Nature, demonstrating a substantial leap in secure global communications technology.
Collaboration between South Africa and China
Scientists from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) and Stellenbosch University in South Africa collaborated on the project. Professor Juan Yin, who was instrumental in the development of China’s first quantum satellite, Micius, headed the Chinese research team.
As the principal experimentalist in charge of setting up the quantum satellite link, Dr. Yaseera Ismail oversaw the research team at Stellenbosch University’s Department of Physics on the South African side.
The development of quantum communication infrastructure in South Africa has been greatly aided by Professor Francesco Petruccione, who is the Director of the National Institute for Theoretical and Computational Sciences (NITheCS) at Stellenbosch University and a Professor of Quantum Computing in the School of Data Science and Computational Thinking.
What this project means for South Africa
To enhance South Africa’s standing in quantum research and innovation, this remarkable feat supports the imminent launch of the Stellenbosch Centre for Quantum Science and Technology.
Professor Petruccione, in Durban, created one of the first fiber-optic quantum communication networks in history, therefore establishing quantum communication in South Africa.
