Instrument Information |
|
IDENTIFIER | urn:nasa:pds:context:instrument:sdu.dfmi::1.0 |
NAME |
DUST FLUX MONITOR INSTRUMENT |
TYPE |
DUST |
DESCRIPTION |
This description was assembled from various Stardust project documents (with permission from the Stardust project) and direct contributions from the instrument science lead, Dr. Anthony J. Tuzzolino. SDN: This document has been updated for the Stardust-NExT (SDN) mission, but mostly left intact from the prime mission data sets. The prefix 'SDN:' typically precedes updated material. Instrument Overview =================== The Dust Flux Monitor Instrument (DFMI) was part of the STARDUST instrument payload. It provided data on the particle flux and mass distribution in the coma of the comet. Scientific Objectives ===================== The prime goal of the DFMI was to measure the particle flux and mass distribution during passage through the coma of Comet Wild-2 in 2004. This information is valuable for assessment of spacecraft risk and health, and also for interpretation of the laboratory analysis of dust captured by the Aerogel dust collectors and returned to Earth. A secondary science goal was to measure the particle flux and mass distribution during the ~7 year interplanetary portions of the mission, where, in addition to measurements of the background interplanetary dust over the radial range 0.98 AU to 2.7 AU, multiple opportunities existed for possible detection by the DFMI of interplanetary particles, meteor-stream particles, and interstellar dust. This part of the investigation was not achieved due to problems with the instrument's power supply. SDN: For SDN the primary goal was to measure the particle flux and mass distribution during passage through the coma of Comet 9P/Tempel 1 in 2011. Calibration =========== A description of the calibration of the DFMI sensors is provided in the calibration report document provided with the DFMI data set(s). SDN: The calibration did not change for Stardust-NExt other than adjusting for the Tempel 1 flyby speed of 10.9 km/s. Calibration comprises converting the electrical threshold levels to the corresponding particle masses, deriving new thresholds for shield penetration and effective area for the acoustic sensors, and converting from the raw counts generated by the electronics vs time to fluence or flux. Operational Considerations ========================== A problem with the power supply detected during post-launch checkout precluded operation of the instrument for more than thirty minutes. Fear of complete failure of the instrument led to its use being restricted to about thirty minutes at each of the Annefrank and Wild 2 encounters. SDN: With the exception of calibration events during CRUISE phase, the same was true for the Stardust-NExT mission. Detectors ========= The DFMI consisted of two different dust detector systems -- a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) DUST SENSOR UNIT (DSU), which measures particles with mass > ~10^-11 g, and a DUAL ACOUSTIC SENSOR SYSTEM (DASS), which utilized two quartz piezoelectric accelerometers mounted on the first two layers of the spacecraft Whipple dust shield to measure the flux of particles with mass > 3 x 10^-8 g. The Whipple shield structures provided the large effective sensitive area required for detection of the expected low flux of high-mass particles. At the encounter speed of 6.1 km/s, the DFMI measurements extended over the particle mass range of 8 decades, from 10^-11 to >10^-3 g. More detailed description of the detectors is provided in Economou et al., 2011, in Tuzzolino et al., 2003, in Green et al., 2004, and in Tuzzolino, 1994 ([ECONOMOUETAL2011], [TUZZOLINOETAL2003], [GREENETAL2004], [TUZZOLINO1994]). SDN: DFMI comprised four sensor subsystems and associated electronics: Two PVDF sensors with sensitive areas of 0.002 and 0.02 m^2 and thicknesses of 6 and 28 um; the Dual Acoustic Sensor Subsystem (DASS) with two piezoelectric sensor, one attached to each of the first two layers of the Whipple Shield on the front of the spacecraft. Each sensor was designed to generate an electrical signal in the event of being impacted by a dust particle. See the Measured Parameters section below for the range of particle masses detectable by the DFMI detectors at the 9P/Tempel 1 flyby parameters. Electronics =========== A detailed description of instrument electronics and internal data processing is provided in Tuzzolino et al., 2003 [TUZZOLINOETAL2003]. SDN: The electronics for each PVDF sensor comprised four channels for each sensor. Each channel corresponded to a particle mass range dependent on spacecraft/particle relative velocity and the composition of the particle. The raw data in each PVDF channel comprised a cumulative count of the number of events as a function of time as the spacecraft passed through the coma. The Acoustic sensor operation was more complicated due to the limited bandwidth available to the subsystem, so some interpretation is required to derive the number of impacts. Location ======== The DSU sensor was mounted on the first layer of the central Whipple shield, as is one of the DASS sensors. The second DASS sensor was mounted on the second layer of the central Whipple shield. Operational Modes ================= During the Wild 2 encounter DFMI operated in ENCOUNTER mode. In this mode the instrument provided measurements at least once per second, and up to 10 times per second, depending on the dust particle flux on the PVDF sensors. In this mode the counters were not reset upon readout, providing accurate cumulative particle fluences. SDN: During the Tempel 1 encounter DFMI operated in ENCOUNTER mode. For calibrations during non-encounter phases DFMI operated in CRUISE mode. In CRUISE mode the instrument provided measurements up to ten times per second down to one measurement per twenty seconds. Subsystems ========== A detailed description of the DFMI subsystems is provided in Economou et al., 2011, Green et al., 2004, and Tuzzolino et al., 2003 ([ECONOMOUETAL2011], [GREENETAL2004], TUZZOLINOETAL2003]). Measured Parameters =================== The DFMI PDVF sensors measure differential and cumulative particle fluxes over the particle mass range 10^-11 to 10^-4 g and cumulative particle fluxes for masses > 10^-4 g. The acoustic sensors measure particle fluxes for particles having mass greater than 3 x 10^-4 g. SDN: At the Stardust(SDU)/Tempel 1 relative velocity of 10.9 km/s, the mass ranges for differential fluxes were slightly lower but similar to those for the Wild 2 prime mission. |
MODEL IDENTIFIER | |
NAIF INSTRUMENT IDENTIFIER |
not applicable |
SERIAL NUMBER |
not applicable |
REFERENCES |
Economou, T.E., S.F. Green, B.C. Clark, D.E. Brownlee, more authors TBD (2011),
Title TBD, Icarus (tentative), in press, Volume TBD, Issue TBD, Date TBD, Pages
TBD. Green, S.F., J.A.M. McDonnell, N. McBride, M.T.S.H. Colwell, A.J. Tuzzolino, T.E. Economou, P. Tsou, B.C. Clark, and D.E. Brownlee (2004), The dust mass distribution of comet 81P/Wild 2, J. Geophys. Res., 109, E12S04, doi:10.1029/2004JE002318, preprint available at http://oro.open.ac.uk/5378/1/2004_Green_et_al_JGR_109_E12S04_pre-print.pdf Tuzzolino, A.J., PVDF flux/mass/velocity/trajectory systems and their applications in space, Lunar and Planetary Inst., Workshop on Particle Capture, Recovery and Velocity/Trajectory Measurement Technologies p. 89-94 (SEE N95-19172 05-90), 1994, http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1994pcrv.work...89T. Tuzzolino, A.J., T.E. Economou, R.B. McKibben, J.A. Simpson, J.A.M. McDonnell, M.J. Burchell, B.A.M. Vaughan, P. Tsou, M.S. Hanner, B.C. Clark, and D.E. Brownlee, Dust Flux Monitor Instrument for the Stardust mission to comet Wild 2, J. Geophys. Res., 108, (E10), 8115, 2003, doi:10.1029/2003JE002086. |