Space-borne inertial sensors based on interferometry with ultra cold matter waves are a valuable tool for differentphysics missions. The spectrum of applications covers a broad area from geodesy, through gravimetry and metrologyup to addressing fundamental questions in physics, as for instance testing the Einstein equivalence principle (EEP) inthe quantum domain. QUANTUS is a German collaboration targeting the long-term goal of studying cold quantumgases on a space platform and investigating the feasibility of matter wave sensors for precision measurements. Theperformance of such a device is mainly limited by the unperturbed evolution time of the wave packets in theinterferometer. Here, microgravity conditions offer extremely long interrogation times and ultra low temperatures ofthe quantum object, which substantially increase sensitivity to levels not obtainable on Earth.
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