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T0122-P

Microgravity Experiment on Accretion in Space Environments

PI: Josh Colwell, Adrienne Dove (Co-I), University of Central Florida

The earliest stages of planet formation involved the accretion of dust into larger and larger objects, eventually forming kilometer-sized planetesimals that grew into planets via their mutual gravitational attraction. The early stages of planetesimal formation require the adhesion of particles through surface contact forces. We propose an experimental study of the sticking of dust particles onto larger objects with a microgravity experiment for parabolic airplane flight.

Technology Areas (?)
  • TA11 Modeling, Simulation, Information Technology and Processing
Problem Statement

Macroscopic (cm-scale) target objects will traverse a swarm of dust particles at a low relative velocity (less than 1 m/s) and the amount of dust that adheres to the target object will be measured. The experiment will consist of multiple test cells so that different relative velocities of the dust and target body as well as different dust compositions can be tested. A microgravity environment is needed to test adhesion at the low collision velocities proposed.

Technology Maturation

Video data will be recorded of the target traversing the dust cloud from multiple angles, and the target object will be captured and isolated after traversing the dust cloud for analysis of the total mass and size distribution of accreted dust after the flight. Our results will help us understand the formation of planetesimals and the evolution of planetary ring-moon systems.

Technology Details

  • Selection Date
    USIP-13 (Aug 2013)
  • Program Status
    Completed
  • Current TRL (?)
    Unknown
    Successful FOP Flights
  • 1 Parabolic

Development Team

Web Accessibility and Privacy Notices Curator: Alexander van Dijk Responsible NASA Official: Stephan Ord Last Update: November 16, 2018