Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. Space Travel News .




STATION NEWS
Did You Say 1.2 Billion Particles Per Month?
by Lori Keith for Johnson Space Center
Houston TX (SPX) Jun 20, 2012


The AMS-02 is a state-of-the-art particle physics detector constructed, tested and operated by an international team involving 60 different institutes and 16 different countries - more than 600 people worldwide.

If you want to understand the origin of the universe, you need a lot of power. That's exactly why the International Space Station is the perfect research platform for the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-02, or AMS-02. The 240-foot long solar arrays that power systems supporting life on the space station also provide the power for AMS's high energy physics research.

Scientists use AMS to collect and sift through charged particles as they look for dark matter and anti-matter seeking to unlock the secrets of our universe. This information could result in the rewrite of physics textbooks in much the same way as the Hubble Space Telescope discoveries rewrote astronomy texts.

The AMS-02 is a state-of-the-art particle physics detector constructed, tested and operated by an international team involving 60 different institutes and 16 different countries - more than 600 people worldwide. The spectrometer will collect information from cosmic sources originating from stars and galaxies millions of light years beyond the Milky Way.

The collected and analyzed cosmic ray data could also help to advance and perhaps redefine much of what is known about the low Earth orbit space radiation environment.

This unique exploration investigation seeks to understand fundamental issues shared by physics, astrophysics and cosmology on the origin and structure of the universe, possibly even identifying a new form of matter.

In an interview, Trent Martin, NASA's Johnson Space Center Project Manager for the AMS aboard the station, stated the AMS detectors collect and measure data at a rate of seven gigabits per second. This is like filling a one-gigabyte USB memory stick every second!

"The AMS was essentially designed to probe the foundations of the universe," Martin said.

"With accurate data, we hope to be able to potentially redefine what we know as high energy physics today."

During the interview, Martin shared details about the spectrometer, his background, and answered several questions posted to the AMS Twitter account. Cosmic radiation is a significant obstacle to a manned space flight to Mars, and accurate measurements of the cosmic ray environment are needed to plan appropriate countermeasures.

The AMS is measuring almost double the amount researchers expected, at a rate of about 1.2 billion particles per month. The particle count is always available on the AMS website.

.


Related Links
AMS at NASA
Station at NASA
Station and More at Roscosmos
S.P. Korolev RSC Energia
Watch NASA TV via Space.TV
Space Station News at Space-Travel.Com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








STATION NEWS
Varied Views from the ISS
Houston TX (SPX) Jun 13, 2012
It boggles the mind to consider how different the wonders of the universe look when viewed from outside our usual perspective. We are used to seeing everything with our heads tilted back, looking up, and through the distinct filter of the Earth's atmosphere. From aboard the International Space Station, however, the point of view is uniquely altered. The crew can be eye-level or even above amazin ... read more


STATION NEWS
A milestone in launcher preparations for Arianespace's fourth Ariane 5 flight of 2012

US military launches new satellite into space

NASA Administrator Bolden Views Historic SpaceX Dragon Capsule

NASA's NuSTAR Mission Lifts Off

STATION NEWS
ESA tests self-steering rover in 'Mars' desert

Opportunity Faces Slow Going Due To Communication Issues

Test of Spare Wheel Puts Odyssey on Path to Recovery

Impact atlas catalogs over 635,000 Martian craters

STATION NEWS
Nanoparticles found in moon glass bubbles explain weird lunar soil behaviour

UA Lunar-Mining Team Wins National Contest

NASA Lunar Spacecraft Complete Prime Mission Ahead of Schedule

NASA Offers Guidelines To Protect Historic Sites On The Moon

STATION NEWS
It's a Sim: Out in Deep Space, New Horizons Practices the 2015 Pluto Encounter

Beyond Pluto And Exploring the Kuiper Belt

Uranus auroras glimpsed from Earth

Herschel images extrasolar analogue of the Kuiper Belt

STATION NEWS
Extremely little telescope discovers pair of odd planets

Alien Earths Could Form Earlier than Expected

Planets can form around different types of stars

Small Planets Don't Need 'Heavy Metal' Stars to Form

STATION NEWS
X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle lands at Vandenberg

China develops new rocket engine

2nd Boeing-built X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle Successfully Completes 1st Flight

Secret U.S. space plane prepares to land

STATION NEWS
Rocket Scientist Who 'Spied for China' Freed

Backup Plans for Tiangong

Liu Yang: China's first female astronaut

Contingency plans to address 700 space scenarios

STATION NEWS
NASA Releases Workshop Data and Findings on Asteroid 2011 AG5

Dawn Easing into its Final Science Orbit

'Unusually large' asteroid to race by Earth

Dawn Mission Video Shows Vesta's Coat of Many Colors




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement