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Iss Furc
Iss Furc
Iss Furc
INTRODUCTION
As with any space mission, volume and mass constraints are very
important. The entire experiment will fit within a cube of
10x10x15cm and will have a mass of no more than 1.5kg. Included
in this cube will be a small evacuated regolith tray resting on
springs. An electromagnet beneath the tray will trigger a gentle
oscillatory motion that will encourage particle collisions. These
collisions will be observed with a miniature camera and will be
periodically sent back for analysis. The experiment can be reset
easily and will require very little astronaut tending. Multiple regolith
simulants will be used in different combinations within the
experiment chambers.
EXPERIMENT DESIGN
Payload specifications:
Volume: 10 x 10 x 15 cm
Mass: 1.5 kilograms
DISCUSSION
This experiment aims to collect data in the form of video and
imaging. With this data, observations can be made about the
conditions that lead to the formation of aggregates. A collision
from a similar experiment can be seen in Figure 2 below. This
series of images was taken from a drop tower test which provides
only ~0.75 seconds of free fall. The extended duration of
microgravity provided by the International Space Station will allow
us to observe collisions like these over much longer periods of
time. The payload is expected to be in experiment mode for 30
days on the International Space Station.
Figure 1. Video data of various drop tower experiments with a
variety of simulants These low velocity collisions shown above are
an example of the collisions that are expected to be observed in
the ISS experiment. A 12 feet in-house drop tower at the Center for
Microgravity Research allows experiments to be tested in a
microgravity environment lasting ~0.75 seconds.