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Window contamination on Expose-R

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 November 2014

R. Demets ,
M. Bertrand ,
A. Bolkhovitinov ,
K. Bryson ,
C. Colas ,
H. Cottin ,
J. Dettmann ,
P. Ehrenfreund ,
A. Elsaesser  and
E. Jaramillo
...Show all authors
R. Demets*
Affiliation:
ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201AZ, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
M. Bertrand
Affiliation:
CNRS, CBM, UPR 4301, rue Charles Sadron, F-45071 Orléans, France
A. Bolkhovitinov
Affiliation:
ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201AZ, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
K. Bryson
Affiliation:
Bay Area Environmental Research Institute, 560 Third St West, Sonoma, CA 95476, USA Space Science and Astrobiology Division, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
C. Colas
Affiliation:
Université Orléans, CNRS, ICOA, UMR 7311, rue de Chartres, F-45067 Orléans, France
H. Cottin
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA), Université Paris Est – Créteil (UPEC), Université Paris Diderot (UPD), UMR 7583 CNRS, 61 Avenue du Général de Gaulle, 94010 Créteil, France
J. Dettmann
Affiliation:
ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201AZ, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
P. Ehrenfreund
Affiliation:
Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333CC Leiden, The Netherlands
A. Elsaesser
Affiliation:
Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333CC Leiden, The Netherlands
E. Jaramillo
Affiliation:
RUAG Schweiz AG, Schaffhauserstrasse 580, 8052 Zürich – Seebach, Switzerland
M. Lebert
Affiliation:
Lehrstuhl für Zellbiologie, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Staudtstraße 5, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany
G. van Papendrecht
Affiliation:
ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201AZ, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
C. Pereira
Affiliation:
RUAG Schweiz AG, Schaffhauserstrasse 580, 8052 Zürich – Seebach, Switzerland
T. Rohr
Affiliation:
ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201AZ, Noordwijk, The Netherlands
K. Saiagh
Affiliation:
Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA), Université Paris Est – Créteil (UPEC), Université Paris Diderot (UPD), UMR 7583 CNRS, 61 Avenue du Général de Gaulle, 94010 Créteil, France
M. Schuster
Affiliation:
Lehrstuhl für Zellbiologie, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Staudtstraße 5, D-91058 Erlangen, Germany
*
e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Expose is a multi-user instrument for astrobiological and astrochemical experiments in space. Installed at the outer surface of the International Space Station, it enables investigators to study the impact of the open space environment on biological and biochemical test samples. Two Expose missions have been completed so far, designated as Expose-E (Rabbow et al. 2012) and Expose-R (Rabbow et al. this issue). One of the space-unique environmental factors offered by Expose is full-spectrum, ultraviolet (UV)-rich electromagnetic radiation from the Sun. This paper describes and analyses how on Expose-R, access of the test samples to Solar radiation degraded during space exposure in an unpredicted way. Several windows in front of the Sun-exposed test samples acquired a brown shade, resulting in a reduced transparency in visible light, UV and vacuum UV (VUV). Post-flight investigations revealed the discolouration to be caused by a homogenous film of cross-linked organic polymers at the inside of the windows. The chemical signature varied per sample carrier. No such films were found on windows from sealed, pressurized compartments, or on windows that had been kept out of the Sun. This suggests that volatile compounds originating from the interior of the Expose facility were cross-linked and photo-fixed by Solar irradiation at the rear side of the windows. The origin of the volatiles was not fully identified; most probably there was a variety of sources involved including the biological test samples, adhesives, plastics and printed circuit boards. The outer surface of the windows (pointing into space) was chemically impacted as well, with a probable effect on the transparency in VUV. The reported analysis of the window contamination on Expose-R is expected to help the interpretation of the scientific results and offers possibilities to mitigate this problem on future missions – in particular Expose-R2, the direct successor of Expose-R.

Keywords

Solar UVwindow transparencycontaminationoutgassingInternational Space Station
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Astrobiology , Volume 14 , Special Issue 1: SPECIAL ISSUE: EXPOSE-R , January 2015 , pp. 33 - 45
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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References

REFERENCES

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