In March 2026, scientists made a groundbreaking achievement by transporting antiprotons by road for the first time. The experiment was conducted by the BASE (Baryon Antibaryon Symmetry Experiment) collaboration, led by Professor Dr. Stefan Ulmer and Dr. Christian Smorra from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU). The team transported antiprotons using a specially designed trap mounted on a truck at CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research in Geneva. This marked a major step forward in antimatter research, as the antiprotons were stored in the mobile vessel for over a month without any loss. The purpose of comparing protons and antiprotons is to investigate the fundamental difference between matter and antimatter, a mystery that could explain the observed imbalance in the universe. Antimatter, which consists of particles like antiprotons, annihilates upon contact with regular matter, yet the universe is dominated by matter. Scientists use ultra-high-vacuum Penning traps to measure the properties of protons and antiprotons with extreme precision. At CERN’s "Antimatter Factory," the BASE collaboration operates a trap called BASE-STEP, which is used to produce and study low-energy antiprotons. The team achieved highly precise measurements of the magnetic moment of protons and antiprotons, reaching an accuracy of 0.3 parts per billion (ppb) for protons and 1.6 ppb for antiprotons. However, no significant differences were found within the measurement limits. Dr. Smorra noted that further improvements in precision are difficult at CERN due to magnetic field fluctuations from the facility’s operations. To overcome this, the team designed a mobile trap that could transport antiprotons to a more stable environment for better measurements. Following a successful transport of protons in October 2024, the BASE team transported 92 antiprotons using the same trap in March 2026. The trap was loaded onto a truck and driven around the CERN site for about half an hour, covering 8 kilometers (5 miles). The antiprotons remained intact during the transport, and the team maintained an ultra-high vacuum in the trap—better than 2.2 × 10⁻¹⁸ mbar—far exceeding the design target. Marcel Leonhardt, a doctoral researcher and lead author of the study, emphasized the significance of this achievement in maintaining a stable environment for long-term storage and manipulation of antiprotons. Looking ahead, the team aims to make the trap autonomous enough to transport antiprotons from Geneva to Düsseldorf, a 10-hour journey. The ultimate goal of this research is to address one of the most profound questions in physics: why the universe is composed mostly of matter rather than antimatter. If a subtle asymmetry between matter and antimatter can be detected, it could provide insights into why the Big Bang produced slightly more matter than antimatter, leading to the universe we observe today.