Effect of Atomic Oxygen and Ultraviolet Rays Irradiation to Aerogel

概要

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Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) deployed three identical Micro-Particles Capturer (MPAC) units on the exterior of the Russian Service Module (SM) on the International Space Station (ISS). MPAC is a passive experiment designed to evaluate micrometeoroids and space debris environment on ISS orbit. Silica aerogels were mounted on MPAC units to capture those particles. However, it was found that the surface of silica aerogel had been altered by space environment during the experiment. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of atomic oxygen and ultraviolet rays on silica aerogel. The experimental results suggested that AO caused small cracks on silica aerogel surface, however, surface morphological feature observed in silica aerogel on SM/MPAC could not be reproduced by AO or UV-exposures. Contribution of severe contamination forming such surface texture was suggested.