Solar Energy News  
TECH SPACE
Quantum Dot instrument enables spacecraft-as-sensor concept
by Karl B. Hille for GSFC News
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Aug 26, 2022

In this illustration, multiple solar sail ScienceCraft gather light spectra from Neptune's moon Triton. The banner image at the top of the page depicts a similar swarm around Neptune.

In NASA's hunt for water and resources beyond Earth, a new technology could coat the "skin" of a satellite, turning its entire surface into a sensor that tallies the chemicals present on distant planets.

Solving the mysteries of our home planet, solar system, and beyond is a key priority for NASA, and the new sensor could be a powerful tool in the investigation. Mahmooda Sultana, an instrument scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, developed the Quantum Dot Spectrometer to help.

Quantum dots are a type of semiconducting nanocrystal that absorbs and re-emits different wavelengths of light depending on their size, shape and chemical composition. Sultana gets her dots, which vary from 2 to 10 nanometers or less than 50 atoms thick, from the lab of chemistry professor Moungi Bawendi, at the Cambridge-based Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

She then uses them to break down light from a planet or other target into portions of the spectrum, creating a sort of fingerprint which reveals what elements or compounds that light has touched.

"Basically, we are converting the entire optical problem into a math problem," Sultana said. "The dots can be identified in the lab to register light of a particular wavelength - a fraction of the chemical fingerprint. Detectors on the other side of the dots collect the fractions, then the data is handed over to computers on the ground to reassemble the complete fingerprint."

"The math is complex," she added, "but using machine learning, we are able to get amazing accuracy, even on more complex spectral curves."

A typical spectrometer can be a relatively bulky piece of equipment, taking up precious real estate aboard a satellite. What sets Sultana's Quantum Dot Spectrometer apart is a literally small miracle of modern chemistry.

Enabling new applications on small satellites as well as solar sails, Sultana's instrument has potential for studying Earth's surface composition, ocean color, vegetation, and atmospheric chemistry, as well as providing insight into auroral interactions. As an engineer interested in planetary science, Sultana said her quantum dot spectrometer could identify water and other chemicals in lunar soil and characterize surface and atmospheric elements of other planets.

ScienceCraft - a New Vision for Exploration
The versatility of the quantum dot technology could enable a low-cost mission to an outer solar system planet.

Her concept - ScienceCraft for Outer Planet Exploration, or SCOPE - capitalizes on the sensor's versatility and low mass. A solar sail, printed with separate layers for readout electronics, detector array, quantum dot spectrometer, and microlens array, would serve as a spacecraft, propulsion system, and science instrument in one.

Sultana calls this vision for future exploration vessels ScienceCraft.

She is working to develop this mission concept through a Phase I NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program award granted this April. Her team has already automated the dot printing process. The sail concept is being developed by co-investigator Artur Davoyan, a professor at UCLA.

"This is a game-changing concept," she said. "We are essentially addressing three of the key barriers to outer solar system exploration: the high cost, long travel time, and a narrow window to launch a mission that can rendezvous with these distant planets."

Driven by the gentle pressure of sunlight across a large area, the sail would pick up speed by orbiting close to the Sun, propelling it into the outer solar system.

Once there, Sultana's vision could accomplish critical science goals, Goddard planetary scientist Conor Nixon said.

"There is currently a gap for exploring the Neptune-Triton system," he said. "Can we do some Neptune science on a fast-flyby, lower-cost mission? It's the sort of planetary system that SCOPE could find a niche in exploring."

In 1989, Voyager 2's close-up images of Triton first revealed its icy surface, marked by plumes that hinted at an active geology and a hidden ocean beneath the ice. Investigating how Triton has changed over time would help scientists better understand how solar system bodies evolve and function.

"As people around the world develop the capability to print electronics or produce different materials and structures, more instruments like the Quantum Dot Spectrometer can be printed directly with the solar sail to create additional ScienceCraft opportunities," Sultana said.


Related Links
Science Instruments at NASA
Space Technology News - Applications and Research


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


TECH SPACE
Leanspace and Valispace team up to demonstrate the power of Digital Continuity in space mission management
Logan UT (SPX) Aug 23, 2022
Numerous software tools are typically required throughout a space mission; from the mission conceptualization and satellite design, to testing the hardware, to running operations. Still today, this technology stack consists of independent systems that don't talk to each other, requiring manual movement of data, limiting automation and forcing engineering teams to work with different data sets. In the current context of commercialization of the space industry, where every organization strives to be ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



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

TECH SPACE
Turning fish waste into quality carbon-based nanomaterial

Brazilian scientists reveal method of converting methane gas into liquid methanol

MSU researchers create method for breaking down plant materials for earth-friendly energy

Solar-powered chemistry uses CO2 and H2O to make feedstock for fuels, chemicals

TECH SPACE
AI that can learn the patterns of human language

A simpler path to supercharge robotic systems

New chip ramps up AI computing efficiency

Raytheon Intelligence and Space to improve human machine teaming

TECH SPACE
Europe and China operate the largest number of offshore wind farms

A new method boosts wind farms' energy output, without new equipment

Modern wind turbines can more than compensate for decline in global wind resource

End-of-life plan needed for tens of thousands of wind turbine blades

TECH SPACE
End of the road for New York's horse-drawn carriages

Californians told not to charge EVs as grid struggles in heat wave

ESA technology for safer, smarter European roads

Plenty of roadblocks for automakers seeking EV success

TECH SPACE
Scientists apply boron to tungsten components in fusion facilities

High energy and hungry for the hardest problems

2D boundaries could create electricity

Forging a path toward safe geothermal energy

TECH SPACE
IAEA chief says integrity of Ukraine nuclear plant 'violated'

Shelling closes one reactor at Ukraine plant; Playing with fire warns ICRC chief

UN team heads to Ukraine NPP despite shelling, IAEA wants permanent presence

Johnson goes nuclear in parting shot as UK PM

TECH SPACE
African countries to stand by 1.5C target at climate talks talks

G20 climate talks in Indonesia end without joint communique

G20 talks end with pledge to accelerate energy transition

Indonesia calls for more G20 action on climate change

TECH SPACE
Want to save carbon and land? Study suggests wooden cities

Zapped survivors: Some tropical trees won't be defeated by lightning

Heatwave triggers 'false autumn' in UK

Scientists use acoustic soundscapes and EO data to assess health of the Amazon









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news 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. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. 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. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.