Using NASA’s Molecular Adsorber Coating technology during thermal vacuum testing to protect critical laser flight optics on the ATLAS instrument

Abstract

The Molecular Adsorber Coating (MAC) is a sprayable coatings technology that was developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The coating was designed to address molecular contamination concerns on or near sensitive surfaces and instruments within the spacecraft for flight or ground-based applications in vacuum conditions. This paper will discuss the use of NASA's MAC technology to isolate and protect the critical laser flight optics of the Advanced Topographic Laser Altimeter System (ATLAS) instrument on the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2). MAC was strategically used during thermal vacuum (TVAC) testing efforts to reduce the risk of contaminating the laser optical components from non-baked items and other unknown outgassing sources from the chamber environment. This paper summarizes the design and implementation efforts, and the chemical analysis of the MAC samples that were used during two recent TVAC tests for the ICESat-2/ATLAS mission.