Abstract
The capture cell technique is a new approach to the study of extraterrestrial material: although complementary to stratospheric collection techniques1, it avoids selection effects introduced by the deceleration of dust in the Earth's atmosphere. The method, to be used extensively in cosmic dust retrieval experiments on the forthcoming NASA Long Duration Exposure Facility, now yields results from its first application in the microabrasion foil experiment (MFE) which was flown as part of the scientific payload on the STS-3 Space Shuttle mission. Post-flight analysis yielded four hypervelocity impact perforation events during 8 days of exposure to space, and confirmed the capture cell technique as a viable low-cost method for the assessment of the near-Earth participate environment. The effectiveness of a meteoroid bumper2 in dissipating incident particle energy is strikingly demonstrated; markedly different and yet unexplained perforation morphologies are observed and a revision of the current near-Earth microparticle influx model3is suggested.
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McDonnell, J., Carey, W. & Dixon, D. Cosmic dust collection by the capture cell technique on the Space Shuttle. Nature 309, 237–240 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/309237a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/309237a0
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