(Yicai Global) March 12 -- The world's first quantum-enabled satellite Quantum Experiments at Space Scale has performed better than expected. The space station has a goal to make data privacy between different continents much safer. 

QESS, nicknamed Micius or Mozi after the ancient Chinese philosopher, has reached a level of prowess that was anticipated to take two years, in just two to three months, Pan Jianwei, a quantum physics professor and an academician at Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Yicai Global. He was speaking at the ongoing top-level political conference of Two Sessions. 

Communication safety is important not only to the nation but also to individuals, Pan noted. Researchers are striving to expand the coverage of quantum information technology, he said, adding that after reducing costs, it can benefit the public.

Since the launch in August 2016, Mozi achieved the global first space-ground integrated quantum communication network after one year of service. 

The nation plans to develop a medium earth orbit satellite that can work around the clock to apply Mozi's findings as soon as possible, Pan said. The space station can only work at night in order to avoid solar background noise. 

The satellite is primarily made for research and not for commercial use, Pan said, adding that it has increased the number of encryption keys by 40 times in the past two years so that about 400,000 encrypted quantum keys can be transmitted within one second.

Those 400,000 encryption keys can convey 40 kilobytes of data every second, Zhang Wenzhuo, an associate research fellow at the University of Science and Technology of China, told Yicai Global. The more keys, the larger the potential for commercial use, he added. 

Editor: Emmi Laine