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Astronaut Development and Deployment of a Secure Quantum Space Communications Network

Christopher Altman, Rupert Ursin, Paolo Villoresi, Colin P. Williams, Vikram Sharma

Published Jul 19, 2026• 0 citations
Publisher
DOI
10.13140/rg.2.2.12213.99045/2

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Astronaut Development and Deployment of a Secure Quantum Space Network

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We propose a fundamentally new quantum communication system based on continuous-variable quantum teleportation that will provide space-based NASA assets with unconditional information security. All command-and-control inputs to spacecraft sent over our network will be guaranteed to be impossible to spoof by any US adversary, protected by the fundamental laws of physics, whereas there is currently no security proof for conventional secure communication such as SSL, RSA, et al. This type of absolute security is even guaranteed if the encrypted traffic must pass over insecure and public networks not under NASA, or even US, control. This capability will provide NASA with a permanent solution for its secure communication needs and is directly responsive to requirements for unconditional information security as referenced in the NASA Roadmap. Our visionary approach brings together the expertise of the two leading European groups involved in the world’s-first demonstration of entangled quantum communications over a 144km free-space optical path, with the quantum and optical communications expertise of NASA JPL, the continuous-variable quantum communications expertise of Quintessence Labs, and the lunar and astronaut training facilities at the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES) on the summit of Mauna Kea, an active volcano on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. Consequently, we offer the best global team for developing a free-space continuous-variable quantum communications prototype and demonstrating the feasibility for it to be set up and calibrated by NASA-trained astronauts conducting an analogue lunar training mission on the same terrain used to train Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, echoing the famous placement of the lunar retroreflectors by the Apollo astronauts. NASA is moving to optical communications for higher bandwidth channels. The security of those channels is based on standard public key infrastructure (PKI). As PKI is only conditionally secure, it can in principle be compromised with sufficient computing power. This exposes NASA’s space assets — and astronauts — to potential harm if an adversary inserts damaging control inputs into communications used for command-and- control of space assets. We propose a functional system that an astronaut can set up to demonstrate the feasibility of deploying a secure quantum communications network between the Earth, the Moon, Mars, and deep space missions based on the use of continuous-variable quantum communications . This type of communications is ideally suited to integration into conventional NASA optical communications as it relies upon similar types of lasers and optical elements.

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We propose a fundamentally new quantum communication system based on continuous-variable quantum teleportation that will provide space-based NASA assets with unconditional information security. All command-and-control inputs to spacecraft sent over our network will be guaranteed to be impossible to spoof by any US adversary, protected by the fundamental laws of physics, whereas there is currently no security proof for conventional secure communication such as SSL, RSA, et al. This type of absolute security is even guaranteed if the encrypted traffic must pass over insecure and public networks not under NASA, or even US, control. This capability will provide NASA with a permanent solution for its secure communication needs and is directly responsive to requirements for unconditional information security as referenced in the NASA Roadmap. Our visionary approach brings together the expertise of the two leading European groups involved in the world’s-first demonstration of entangled quantum communications over a 144km free-space optical path, with the quantum and optical communications expertise of NASA JPL, the continuous-variable quantum communications expertise of Quintessence Labs, and the lunar and astronaut training facilities at the Pacific International Space Center for Exploration Systems (PISCES) on the summit of Mauna Kea, an active volcano on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. Consequently, we offer the best global team for developing a free-space continuous-variable quantum communications prototype and demonstrating the feasibility for it to be set up and calibrated by NASA-trained astronauts conducting an analogue lunar training mission on the same terrain used to train Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, echoing the famous placement of the lunar retroreflectors by the Apollo astronauts. NASA is moving to optical communications for higher bandwidth channels. The security of those channels is based on standard public key infrastructure (PKI). As PKI is only conditionally secure, it can in principle be compromised with sufficient computing power. This exposes NASA’s space assets — and astronauts — to potential harm if an adversary inserts damaging control inputs into communications used for command-and- control of space assets. We propose a functional system that an astronaut can set up to demonstrate the feasibility of deploying a secure quantum communications network between the Earth, the Moon, Mars, and deep space missions based on the use of continuous-variable quantum communications . This type of communications is ideally suited to integration into conventional NASA optical communications as it relies upon similar types of lasers and optical elements.
One of the most advanced technologies within the field of quantum mechanics is quantum key distribution (QKD), which allows the secure generation of secret keys among remote users. In order for QKD to be more widely adopted, it must be integrated into existing classical communication systems. However, this can be difficult due to the use of various technologies and channels in deployed networks. Recently, we developed a QKD network in the metropolitan area of Padova, which connects various nodes across the city through a combination of fiber and free-space links. By utilizing a modular design based on the iPOGNAC encoder and the Qubit4Sync method, we have realized portable and adaptable systems that operate in the C and O bands. This allowed us to deploy and test the compatibility of both research and commercial QKD systems by ThinkQuantum with classical communication over a variety of links, as well as their ability to switch between free-space and fiber connections. Finally, we developed and experimentally implemented complex network configurations such as star networks, where a fiber-based transmitter and free-space transmitter could operate with a single receiver.