The largest scientific instrument to be installed on the International Space Station (ISS) is being readied for flight to the orbiting complex early next year.
The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) is a state-of-the-art particle physics detector. The AMS-02 will search for signs of antimatter and dark matter in space.
Observations taken by the equipment will help address fundamental questions, such as: What makes up the universe’s invisible mass? What did happen to the primordial antimatter?
AMS was built mostly by institutes in Italy, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland, together with the participation of China, Russia, Taiwan and US.
In all, the experiment’s team consists of 56 institutes from 16 countries.
Boasting a large magnet and state-of-the-art particle detector, AMS will use its lofty vantage point on the ISS’s main truss to measure cosmic rays with unprecedented sensitivity and accuracy.
In addition to a better understanding of cosmic radiation — a major challenge of long-duration spaceflight — the instrument could uncover evidence of mysterious dark matter or missing antimatter, discoveries that would help answer lingering questions about the universe and its beginnings.
AMS-02 is slated to operate for at least 10 years without intervention of the astronauts living onboard the station.
ISS will be able to provide the amount of resources required by AMS-02 — downlink, power, exposure time, re-boosting capability – all of which are harder to obtain on a free-flying satellite.
The scientific gear arrived late last month at NASA’s Space Station Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center.
By LD/CSE