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Science has reached a new low. Temperature, that is.

Scientists cooled a collection of atoms to about 10 picokelvins, or 10 trillionths of a kelvin. That’s barely a smidge above absolute zero (−273.15° Celsius). The atoms formed a Bose-Einstein condensate, a quantum state of matter, colder than any before, researchers report November 5 in Science .

To achieve that record-low chill, scientists took their work to space. The atoms orbited Earth aboard China’s Tiangong space station. There, researchers used laser-based traps to contain 20,000 rubidium atoms and reduce their motion, thereby cooling them. At an atomic level, temperature is tied to motion: Atoms and molecules in the air around us move more slowly when it’s colder.…