Measuring contamination levels in external induced atmosphere of Russian orbital stations and the Russian Segment of the International Space Station

In view of the increasing number of science experiments being carried out in the Russian Segment of the International Space Station, there is a growing interest in the state of the environment where they are conducted, especially, in the contaminating effects of the external induced atmosphere. Sources of the induced atmosphere contamination are the off-gassing of non-metallic materials of the outer coatings, firings of control system thrusters and exhausts of various venting systems, as well as dust particles remaining on the external surfaces after launch from Earth, atmospheric aerosols and space dust. The paper presents results of measurements of molecular depositions on the sensors of quartz crystal microbalances that were used for evaluating contamination in the induced atmosphere of the first Soviet orbital stations Salyut-7 and Mir, as well as modules Pirs and Poisk of the Russian Segment of the International Space Station. The results of the experiments show a significant effect of lighting and thermal conditions of the contamination source and the quartz microbalance sensor on the measurement results. Key words: contamination, quartz crystal microbalance, orbital, external induced atmosphere.

Measuring contamination levels in external induced atmosphere of Russian orbital stations and the Russian Segment of the International Space Station

In view of the increasing number of science experiments being carried out in the Russian Segment of the International Space Station, there is a growing interest in the state of the environment where they are conducted, especially, in the contaminating effects of the external induced contamination are firings of control as dust particles the outgassing system thrusters remaining on atmosphere. Sources of the induced atmosphere of non-metallic materials of the outer coatings, and exhausts the external of various venting systems, as well surfaces after launch from Earth, atmospheric aerosols and space dust. The paper presents results of quartz crystal microbalances molecular depositions measurements that were used for evaluating contamination in the induced atmosphere of the first Soviet orbital stations Salyut-7 and Mir, as well as modules Pirs and Poisk of the Russian Segment of the International Space Station. The results of the experiments show a significant effect of illumination and thermal conditions of the contamination source and the quartz microbalance sensor on the measurement results.

The Space Dust That Causes Zodiacal Light Might Come from Mars

Serendipitous observations by the Juno spacecraft while it was en route to Jupiter suggest a Martian source for the dust, but how the dust escapes Mars or its moons remains unknown.

Iron and nickel atoms in comet atmospheres

When sufficiently close to the Sun, ices in cometary nuclei sublimate, ejecting in space dust and gases whose compositions can be derived by the remote spectral analysis of the cometary atmospheres. Those very rich spectra reveal a host of constituents from simple radicals like OH and CN in the optical range, to relatively complex organic molecules in the infrared and sub-millimeter domain. The majority of these molecules are made of C, H, O and N atoms. Iron, nickel and a few other siderophile atoms have only been detected in two exceptional sungrazer comets in a century and a half. Here we report that free atoms of iron and nickel are ubiquitous in cometary atmospheres as revealed by high-resolution spectra obtained in the near-ultraviolet with the ESO Very Large Telescope for a large sample of comets of various dynamical origins. The emissions of NiI and FeI in cometary comae have been overlooked until now and, surprisingly, are even detected at large heliocentric distances. The abundances of both species appear to be of the same order of magnitude, contrasting with the typical solar system abundance and providing clues about their origins in comet nuclei.

Fundamentals of Meteor Burst Communication

When space dust rushes into the atmosphere, oxygen and nitrogen are ionized by frictional heat. Along the dust flight path, a very long cylindrical plasma tube, 10 meters in diameter and several kilometers long is formed. The long plasma tube is called “meteor burst” and is a good reflector for radio waves in the VHF band. Non-line-of-sight communication performed using this reflector is called “meteor burst communication”. In this chapter, the basics of meteor burst communication and its applications are outlined.

The Dawn of Dust Astronomy

We review the development of dust science from the first ground-based astronomical observations of dust in space to compositional analysis of individual dust particles and their source objects. A multitude of observational techniques is available for the scientific study of space dust: from meteors and interplanetary dust particles collected in the upper atmosphere to dust analyzed in situ or returned to Earth. In situ dust detectors have been developed from simple dust impact detectors determining the dust hazard in Earth orbit to dust telescopes capable of providing compositional analysis and accurate trajectory determination of individual dust particles in space. The concept of Dust Astronomy has been developed, recognizing that dust particles, like photons, carry information from remote sites in space and time. From knowledge of the dust particles’ birthplace and their bulk properties, we learn about the remote environment out of which the particles were formed. Dust Observatory missions like Cassini, Stardust, and Rosetta study Saturn’s satellites and rings and the dust environments of comet Wild 2 and comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko, respectively. Supplemented by simulations of dusty processes in the laboratory we are beginning to understand the dusty environments in space.