Key to the success of an RPA is the housing structure that aligns the meshes. These ions create an electric current that the sensor measures and analyzes. As plasma passes through the holes, electrons and other particles are stripped away until only ions remain. The sensors contain a series of electrically charged meshes dotted with tiny holes. Aboard an orbiting spacecraft like a CubeSat, the versatile instruments measure energy and conduct chemical analyses that can help scientists predict the weather or monitor climate change. The sensors detect the energy in ions, or charged particles, that are floating in plasma, which is a superheated mix of molecules present in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The research is published in Additive Manufacturing.Īn RPA was first used in a space mission in 1959. Joining Velásquez-García on the paper are lead author and MTL postdoc Javier Izquierdo-Reyes graduate student Zoey Bigelow and postdoc Nicholas K. Sometimes there is nothing to trade off,” says Luis Fernando Velásquez-García, a principal scientist in MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratories (MTL) and senior author of a paper presenting the plasma sensors. But we’ve shown that is not always the case. Some people think that when you 3D-print something, you have to concede less performance. “Additive manufacturing can make a big difference in the future of space hardware. By using the glass-ceramic in a fabrication process that was developed for 3D printing with plastics, there were able to create sensors with complex shapes that can withstand the wide temperature swings a spacecraft would encounter in lower Earth orbit. The researchers developed RPAs using a glass-ceramic material that is more durable than traditional sensor materials like silicon and thin-film coatings. These inexpensive, low-power, and lightweight satellites are often used for communication and environmental monitoring in Earth’s upper atmosphere. By contrast, the 3D-printed sensors can be produced for tens of dollars in a matter of days.ĭue to their low cost and speedy production, the sensors are ideal for CubeSats. The 3D-printed and laser-cut hardware performed as well as state-of-the-art semiconductor plasma sensors that are manufactured in a cleanroom, which makes them expensive and requires weeks of intricate fabrication. These plasma sensors, also known as retarding potential analyzers (RPAs), are used by satellites to determine the chemical composition and ion energy distribution of the atmosphere. MIT scientists have created the first completely digitally manufactured plasma sensors for orbiting spacecraft.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |