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This Defense Intelligence Reference Document, dated 10 December 2010, was prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency's Defense Warning Office under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications program. It examines quantum computing and DNA-based molecular computing as options for onboard supercomputing in future spaceflight. It forecasts working ion trap quantum computers within 10 years, simple DNA tile computing within 20 years, and self-repairing DNA computers and hybrid quantum dot systems on a 40-year horizon.
From the source:Release of 2026-09-18 Incident: 12/10/10, Las Vegas, Nevada. Released with redactions. This document is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIRD), a technical reference format used by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to capture baseline knowledge on a specific topic for later analytic use. DIRDs are best understood as reference and synthesis products rather than as original research. It is one of 38 DIRDs produced under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) between 2009 and 2011. Because AAWSAP’s scope permitted a broad range of supporting topics, not every DIRD in the series directly concerns aerospace systems or future threat assessment. The following summary reflects the DIRD’s scope and framing at the time of writing and should not be read as implying current validation of the concepts discussed. This DIRD surveys advanced computing concepts for future space and automation applications, focusing on quantum and molecular (DNA-based) computing as potential alternatives to conventional silicon electronics. The report introduces quantum computing principles alongside DNA-based logic gates, self-assembly, and nanoscale repair mechanisms, arguing that these unconventional architectures might eventually offer advantages in radiation tolerance, physical robustness, and specialized onboard processing for space-based platforms. It notes that near-term practical barriers remain substantial. Quantum systems continue to depend on complex cryogenics, shielding, and unsolved reliability challenges, while DNA-based computing remains a far-future concept rather than a viable alternative to general-purpose processors. Overall, the document presents both frameworks as long-term possibilities to complement, rather than immediately replace proven space-qualified electronics. It concludes that the stronger, nearer-term cases for such architectures are in highly specialized or hybrid roles rather than in fully mature general-purpose onboard computing applications.
UNCLASSIFIED/ /FAA: QFFI&il.t.k YSIE 8HtY Deoxyribozyme-based Boolean Automata The deoxyribozyme logic gates were applied to the construction of the first DNA-based Boolean automata capable of autonomously responding to human inputs: "MAYAs" are automata playing a game of tic-tac-toe against a human player. In tic-tac-toe there are a maximum of 4 moves by the human player when MAYA has the first move. The initial MAYA automaton played a simplified game, always claiming the center first, and the first human move is symmetry-restricted to one corner or one side move. These simplifications led to a representation of the game as a series of Boolean formulae that compute the automaton's output in each well, based on the human inputs present in all wells. These formulae were mapped to 23 deoxyribozyme-based logic gates by arranging gates in the individual wells around a common substrate. These "hard-wired" automata give the human no chance to win (Figure 22, Figure 23). (120, 122) One, two and three input deoxyribozyme-based logic gates are allosterically modulated by 32 human-operated input oligonucleotides: 97 logic gates distributed across 9 wells which calculate automaton moves, and 32 gates (boxed) display human moves by implementation of a two-color fluorogenic output system. Even though this mechanism is simplistic in nature, it has performed flawless Boolean calculations. rA-T--A-"f-C.--A-C-t:--F d It i:, ;, 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 , 0 0 , , 0 I 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 I 1 0 1 1 1 0 Figure 22. Basic gate structures, derived from allosterically regulated deoxyribozyme E6, for playing tic-tac toe against a human opponent. The truth tables constructed are sufficient to ensure the human player cannot win the game. (120) UNCLASSIFIED//EAA: QFFiliCiliOI. l'ii QPII.¥ 39
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