Space Environment Simulation

Space Environment Simulation Laboratory : a1680 square foot temperature and humidity controlled laboratory with 189 square feet of cleanroom space.

Contact Information

Cryotrap Inlet System (CTIS)

Small Edwards turbopump (~60 l/s)
Small ion pump (~100 l/s)
Small scroll pump
Pfeiffer Vacuum HiPace 10, world’s smallest production turbomolecular pump
Pfeiffer MVP006-4 four-stage diaphragm pump
Instrutech Hornet® multi-gauge including Bayard-Alpert ionization gauge
Lenovo PC laptop for RGA operation, data acquisition and monitoring
Ricor 1-Watt Sterling Cycle cryocooler & metal adsorber for cryosorption pumping w/temperature monitoring

Space Ice (SPICE) Chamber

Chamber identical to that used by Cassini INMS in Lab 355
16” x 16” cubic cylinder
System pumping: 1 Cryo-Torr 10’s (3000l/s pumping speed), Dry scroll pump and 70 l/s turbo pump
Numerous available flanges at an assortment of chamber positions for electrical feedthroughs.
High purity nitrogen available for instrument purging
All chamber venting done with high purity nitrogen
Bruker FTIR spectrometer for probing ice surfaces during substrate exposure to ions, gases and volatiles

Space Ice chamber environment diagnostics/monitoring include:

Positioning system for manipulating sample
Manual temperature control to cryogenic levels using in-house fabricated cryostat
Pressure control
PC controlled through Granville-Phillips Stabil-Ion® gauge & controller
Routine base pressures of <1 x 10^-7 Torr at ambient temperature, < 1×10^-8 Torr when cold
Reaches cross-over point in < 30 minutes

Gas inlet manifold with multiple access connections and ports

Flight Hardware Assembly Flow Bench

ESD-certified flow workbenches produce conditions near Class 10,000 for flight instrument assembly.
Lab is temperature and humidity controlled.
High purity nitrogen available for instrument purging