Five things to know about NASA`s Deep Space Atomic Clock
(PHYSorg.com Space & Earth)

NASA is sending a new technology to space on June 22 that will change the way we navigate our spacecraft-even how we send astronauts to Mars and beyond. Built by NASA`s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the Deep Space Atomic Clock is a technology demonstration that will help spacecraft navigate autonomously through deep space. No larger than a toaster oven, the instrument will be tested in Earth orbit for one year, with the goal of being ready for future missions to other worlds.