Groundbreaking quantum experiments taking place elevated over Innsbruck

The picturesque city of Innsbruck, Austria, is home to a groundbreaking scientific project: the Quantum Optical Ground Station Marietta Blau. This state-of-the-art facility, situated at an elevation of 2,265 meters, is poised to revolutionise the field of quantum communication and other physics disciplines.

Funded by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG, using funds from the Next Generation EU program, the Marietta Blau Ground Station was a collaborative effort between the city of Innsbruck, Nordkettenbahnen, and the executing architecture firm, schafferer - architecture and project management. The ground station's key component is a Ritchey-Chrétien telescope, boasting a 1-meter primary mirror, capable of receiving signals from existing and planned quantum satellites orbiting at approximately 600 km altitude.

The transportation of the telescope's components to the site, which includes a 5-tonne dome and a 1-meter primary mirror made of quartz glass, required several helicopter flights. The Hafelekar site, where the station is located, offers ideal conditions for research, as it is close enough to the Technikerstraße campus and the university's quantum optics labs to be connected via optical fiber cables. This proximity enables research on satellite-supported quantum communication and quantum interfaces that can be coupled with satellites.

The Quantum Optical Ground Station Marietta Blau is situated in a location of significant scientific historical importance. Victor Franz Hess, a renowned physicist, established a research station in the same location in 1931 for observing cosmic radiation. The ground station bears the name of another groundbreaking scientist, Marietta Blau, a nuclear physicist of Jewish origin, who faced long-term recognition denial for her work.

Marietta Blau made significant contributions to the field of physics, with her groundbreaking discoveries paving the way for the development of the Quantum Optical Ground Station that bears her name today. The construction of the Marietta Blau Ground Station was made possible by the cooperation of various actors and funding from the Next Generation EU program. This cutting-edge facility is set to play a pivotal role in the future of space-based quantum communication and physics research.

By exchanging individual photons between a satellite and two ground stations, secure communication or quantum computer connection can be established on Earth's surface. This technology has the potential to transform various sectors, from telecommunications to cryptography, and the Marietta Blau Ground Station is at the forefront of this exciting development.