Scientists and students from Samara University named after Korolev will conduct an experiment in space to understand how much nanosatellites made of a particular material are contaminated during operation in orbit. For this purpose, scientific equipment and quartz crystal microbalances will be sent into space on the new Aist-ST nanosatellite, which will fly soon.
They will weigh particles of their own external atmosphere, a kind of space "dust" that is always around satellites, spacecraft, and orbital stations due to their microgravity. In essence, it is a cloud consisting of molecules of various liquids and gases, microscopic solid particles that peel off from the outer covering of the hull.
It affects satellite optics and can distort radio signals, which can lead to a decrease in the accuracy of radio measurements and failures in receiving signals from Earth. According to data from open sources, during the operation of a large satellite weighing more than three tons, its hull releases up to 1 kg of various substances into near-satellite space, with about 100 g of these substances being deposited on the outer surface of the hull, forming polluting films. Russian scientists will study the effect of "dust" on nanosatellites for the first time: before that, such experiments concerned the ISS and ordinary satellites.
Our module is built on the basis of quartz crystal microbalances, that is, directly in the body of the module there are two quartz resonators, one of which is hermetically sealed with protective glass, it is a "quartz witness". The second quartz will "look out" into space, being flush with the surface of the nanosatellite body. Such studies are very important for assessing the impact of the spacecraft's own external atmosphere on highly sensitive onboard equipment, such as star sensors or optical remote sensing instruments. Since we know what materials are used in the production of the spacecraft, we can draw conclusions about the behavior of a particular material in orbit based on the degree and rate of contamination. The data from such experiments help designers of space technology to choose less "dirt-forming" materials, which allows maintaining high performance of onboard equipment in space.
The data obtained during the orbital study will help in the future to improve the quality of optical and radar equipment of Earth remote sensing satellites.
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