Dust detection in the ISS environment using filmed microchannel plates

Stevenson, T.; Fraser, George W.; Lapington, J. S.; Brandt, D.

doi:10.1029/2004je002392

Cited by 11 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Aluminum films on MCP optics act as low-absorbtivity thermal barriers to reduce stresses on the optics structure. The effects of contamination and erosion on the films during the exposure are described by Carpenter et al [2006], and the results of early observations of submicron impact features on the films using secondary electron (SE) imaging with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) are reported by Carpenter et al [2005]. The latter analysis of impacts revealed film perforations caused by a population of submicron dust particles and showed that the sensitivity of these very thin films to impacts exceeded that of previous, passive foil exposure experiments by more than an order of magnitude.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanometer hypervelocity dust impacts in low Earth orbit

et al. 2007

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[1] A study has been made of 60 nm thick aluminum films which have been exposed to the space environment outside of International Space Station (ISS) between 2002 and 2004. Field emission scanning electron microscopy has been used to provide high-resolution images of impact features less than 100 nm in diameter and of detailed impact morphologies at different spatial scales. Analysis of images reveals the incident directions and diameters of the impacting particles and allows separation of impacts at hypervelocity from those at lower velocities. This allows the separation of different particle populations. We find that most detected particles have been generated locally as the result of secondaries following larger impacts elsewhere on the ISS or as a result of docking maneuvers by the Progress supply module or by other spacecraft. There is also evidence for a population of dust particles incident at hypervelocity and with minimum diameters smaller than 10 nm. This particle flux of the dust particles is consistent with the expected flux of micrometeoroids with mass >10 À18 g at 1 AU and may represent the first measurement of dust particles with such small masses in near-Earth space. Future experiments to measure the flux of nanometer-scale dust particles are proposed, both passive exposure cells for retrieval and also active detectors to provide access to dust/debris populations without the requirement for experiment retrieval.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanometer hypervelocity dust impacts in low Earth orbit

et al. 2007

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“…CCD-detectors. A detailed analysis of the size and frequency of impacting dust particles derived from the exposed MCP sample is given by Carpenter et al (2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Results from a contamination experiment on the ISS

et al. 2005

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While investigating the feasibility of the accommodation of X-ray instrumentations on the International Space Station (ISS) a major question remained still open, i.e. the unknown extent of degradation of X-ray mirror surfaces and X-ray detector material caused by contamination in the ISS environment. Therefore, a sample expose experiment has been started in 2001 to investigate these effects in detail using the Russian expose facility provided by the Russian space industry company RKK Energia. While Kayser-Threde GmbH was responsible to organize and coordinate the experiment, gold-coated Zerodur and silicon samples have been provided by the Max-Planck-Institute (MPE). In total 5 samples were flown with the expose facility and have been exposed to the ISS environment for a total duration of 756 days. The analyses of 4 of them are presented in this paper. X-ray reflection measurements before and after the experiment at MPE's PANTER X-ray test facility and microscopy inspections revealed a thin structured surface layer which reduced the X-ray reflection of the exposed mirror samples dramatically. In addition, the samples have been analyzed with a scanning electron microscope, an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer, and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis. The results of all these measurements revealing the degradation of the X-ray mirrors and polished silicon detector surfaces are presented.

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“…In order to extend the measurement window to nano-metre sized micrometeoroids, an aluminium Film Interplanetary Dust Detector (AFIDD) as a Nano-Dust Detector is required [8,9]. Dust particles impacting on a thin (10-100 nm) Al film will have a ballistic limit defined as the maximum thickness of aluminium which can be perforated [33].…”

Section: Dust Cameras and Instrumentationmentioning

confidence: 99%