ASTER: A Brazilian mission to an asteroid

The first Brazilian mission to an asteroid is being planned. The target is the asteroid 2001 SN263, which has a NEA orbit of class AMOR. Spectral analysis indicated that this is a C-type asteroid. This type of asteroids are dark and difficult to be studied from Earth. They hold clues of the initial stages of planetary formation and also the origin of water and life on Earth. In fact, radar data showed that 2001 SN263 is composed of three bodies with diameters of about 2.8 km, 1.1 km and 0.4 km. Therefore, the spacecraft will have the opportunity to explore three bodies on the same trip. The mission is scheduled to be launched in 2015, reaching the asteroid in 2018. It will be used a small spacecraft (150 kg) with 30 kg for the payload. The set of scientific instruments being considered to explore the target of this mission include an Imaging Camera, a Laser Rangefinder, an Infrared Spectrometer, a Synthetic Aperture Radar and a Mass Spectrometer. The main measurements to be made include the bulk properties (size, shape, mass, density, dynamics, spin state), the internal properties (structure, gravity field) and surface properties (mineralogy, morphology, elemental composition). The mission also opens an opportunity for some relevant experiments, not directly related to the target. Two such experiments will take benefit from being on board of the spacecraft along the journey to the asteroid system, which will take about three years. The first is an astrobiology experiment. The main goal of this experiment is to determine the viability of the microorganisms survival in extraterrestrial environments simulated in laboratory (chemical atmosphere, temperature, desiccation, vacuum, microgravity and radiation). The second experiment is a plasma package. The main objectives of this experiment are to study the structure and electrodynamics of plasma along the trajectory, the plasma instability processes and the density and temperature of plasma of solar wind origin along the trajectory and near the asteroids. This mission represents a great challenge for the Brazilian space program. It is being structured to allow the full engagement of the Brazilian universities and technological companies in all the necessary developments to be carried out. In this paper, we present some aspects of this mission and details of the payload that will be used and the scientific expectations. Copyright ©2010 by the International Astronautical Federation. All rights reserved.

High-resolution thermal expansion measurements under helium-gas pressure

We report on the realization of a capacitive dilatometer, designed for high-resolution measurements of length changes of a material for temperatures 1.4K ≤ T ≤ 300K and hydrostatic pressure P ≤ 250MPa. Helium ( 4He) is used as a pressure-transmitting medium, ensuring hydrostatic-pressure conditions. Special emphasis has been given to guarantee, to a good approximation, constant-pressure conditions during temperature sweeps. The performance of the dilatometer is demonstrated by measurements of the coefficient of thermal expansion at pressures P ≃ 0.1MPa (ambient pressure) and 104MPa on a single crystal of azurite, Cu 3(CO 3) 2(OH) 2, a quasi-one-dimensional spin S = 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet. The results indicate a strong effect of pressure on the magnetic interactions in this system. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.

Optical transition radiation used in the diagnostic of low energy and low current electron beams in particle accelerators

Optical transition radiation (OTR) plays an important role in beam diagnostics for high energy particle accelerators. Its linear intensity with beam current is a great advantage as compared to fluorescent screens, which are subject to saturation. Moreover, the measurement of the angular distribution of the emitted radiation enables the determination of many beam parameters in a single observation point. However, few works deals with the application of OTR to monitor low energy beams. In this work we describe the design of an OTR based beam monitor used to measure the transverse beam charge distribution of the 1.9-MeV electron beam of the linac injector of the IFUSP microtron using a standard vision machine camera. The average beam current in pulsed operation mode is of the order of tens of nano-Amps. Low energy and low beam current make OTR observation difficult. To improve sensitivity, the beam incidence angle on the target was chosen to maximize the photon flux in the camera field-of-view. Measurements that assess OTR observation (linearity with beam current, polarization, and spectrum shape) are presented, as well as a typical 1.9-MeV electron beam charge distribution obtained from OTR. Some aspects of emittance measurement using this device are also discussed. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4748519]

Gold ion implantation into alumina using an “inverted ion source” configuration.

We describe an approach to ion implantation in which the plasma and its electronics are held at ground potential and the ion beam is injected into a space held at high negative potential, allowing considerable savings both economically and technologically. We used an “inverted ion implanter” of this kind to carry out implantation of gold into alumina, with Au ion energy 40 keV and dose (3–9) × 1016 cm−2. Resistivity was measured in situ as a function of dose and compared with predictions of a model based on percolation theory, in which electron transport in the composite is explained by conduction through a random resistor network formed by Au nanoparticles. Excellent agreement is found between the experimental results and the theory.

Single-shot electron bunch length measurements using a spatial electro-optical autocorrelation interferometer

A spatial, electro-optical autocorrelation (EOA) interferometer using the vertically polarized lobes of coherent transition radiation (CTR) has been developed as a single-shot electron bunch length monitor at an optical beam port downstream the 100 MeV preinjector LINAC of the Swiss Light Source. This EOA monitor combines the advantages of step-scan interferometers (high temporal resolution) [D. Mihalcea et al., Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 9, 082801 (2006) and T. Takahashi and K. Takami, Infrared Phys. Technol. 51, 363 (2008)] and terahertz-gating technologies [U. Schmidhammer et al., Appl. Phys. B: Lasers Opt. 94, 95 (2009) and B. Steffen et al., Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 12, 032802 (2009)] (fast response), providing the possibility to tune the accelerator with an online bunch length diagnostics. While a proof of principle of the spatial interferometer was achieved by step-scan measurements with far-infrared detectors, the single-shot capability of the monitor has been demonstrated by electro-optical correlation of the spatial CTR interference pattern with fairly long (500 ps) neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser pulses in a ZnTe crystal. In single-shot operation, variations of the bunch length between 1.5 and 4 ps due to different phase settings of the LINAC bunching cavities have been measured with subpicosecond time resolution.

New technology enables high precision multislit collimators for microbeam radiation therapy

During the past decade microbeam radiation therapy has evolved from preclinical studies to a stage in which clinical trials can be planned, using spatially fractionated, highly collimated and high intensity beams like those generated at the x-ray ID17 beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. The production of such microbeams typically between 25 and 100 microm full width at half maximum (FWHM) values and 100-400 microm center-to-center (c-t-c) spacings requires a multislit collimator either with fixed or adjustable microbeam width. The mechanical regularity of such devices is the most important property required to produce an array of identical microbeams. That ensures treatment reproducibility and reliable use of Monte Carlo-based treatment planning systems. New high precision wire cutting techniques allow the fabrication of these collimators made of tungsten carbide. We present a variable slit width collimator as well as a single slit device with a fixed setting of 50 microm FWHM and 400 microm c-t-c, both able to cover irradiation fields of 50 mm width, deemed to meet clinical requirements. Important improvements have reduced the standard deviation of 5.5 microm to less than 1 microm for a nominal FWHM value of 25 microm. The specifications of both devices, the methods used to measure these characteristics, and the results are presented.

Sideband characterization and atmospheric observations with various 340 GHz heterodyne receivers

This paper describes sideband response measurements and atmospheric observations with a double sideband and two Single Sideband (SSB) receiver prototypes developed for the multi-beam limb sounder instrument stratosphere-troposphere exchange and climate monitor radiometer. We first show an advanced Fourier-Transform Spectroscopy (FTS) method for sideband response and spurious signal characterization. We then present sideband response measurements of the different prototype receivers and we compare the results of the SSB receivers with sideband measurements by injecting a continuous wave signal into the upper and lower sidebands. The receivers were integrated into a total-power radiometer and atmospheric observations were carried out. The observed spectra were compared to forward model spectra to conclude on the sideband characteristics of the different receivers. The two sideband characterization methods show a high degree of agreement for both SSB receivers with various local oscillator settings. The measured sideband response was used to correct the forward model simulations. This improves the agreement with the atmospheric observations and explains spectral features caused by an unbalanced sideband response. The FTS method also allows to quantify the influence of spurious harmonic responses of the receiver.

Development of a low energy ion source for ROSINA ion mode calibration

The European Rosetta mission on its way to comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko will remain for more than a year in the close vicinity (1 km) of the comet. The two ROSINA mass spectrometers on board Rosetta are designed to analyze the neutral and ionized volatile components of the cometary coma. However, the relative velocity between the comet and the spacecraft will be minimal and also the velocity of the outgassing particles is below 1km∕s. This combination leads to very low ion energies in the surrounding plasma of the comet, typically below 20eV. Additionally, the spacecraft may charge up to a few volts in this environment. In order to simulate such plasma and to calibrate the mass spectrometers, a source for ions with very low energies had to be developed for the use in the laboratory together with the different gases expected at the comet. In this paper we present the design of this ion source and we discuss the physical parameters of the ion beam like sensitivity, energy distribution, and beam shape. Finally, we show the first ion measurements that have been performed together with one of the two mass spectrometers.