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Artifact - Collection apparatus
S-12 collector (closed)
S-12 collector (open)
This Dudley Observatory S-12 micrometeorite collector is
the type that flew on the Gemini IX space mission in 1966. It was
used by astronaut Eugene Cernan to collect and record the impact
of micrometorites (small particles that continually bombard the
earth from space). It held stainless steel or lucite sample
slides, each about one inch on a side. On Gemini IX, these sample
slides were scientific experiments, prepared by the Dudley
Observatory and other scientific institutions such as the
University of Tel Aviv, the Max Planck Institute in Germany, and
the U.S. Geological Survey. A few of the slides carried samples of
microorganisms in order to test the survivability of these
primitive life forms in space.
The apparatus was launched into space on the Gemini-Titan II
space vehicle on June 3, 1966, and was opened in space for a total
of 16 hours and 47 minutes, after which it was recovered by
astronaut Cernan and returned to earth. Examination at the Dudley
Observatory revealed the presence of "fluffy" particles, as well
as holes in the samples believed to have been made by high
velocity micrometeorites. Analyzing both the particles and the
holes enabled Dudley Observatory scientists to estimate the flux
of micrometeorites in space,. Study of samples carried on other
slides showed that certain micro-organisms had survived the
several hours of space exposure.
S-149 Collector (closed)
S-149 Collector (open)
This S-149 micrometeorite collector is of the type that
flew on the U.S. Skylab space mission from June-Sept, 1973. These
collectors were exposed to space for a total of more than 100
days, and provided a large body of data concerning cosmic dust in
the vicinity of earth. While the collector was opened in space,
micrometorites (small particles that continually bombard the earth
from space) hit and made holes in a set of copper, silver, and
stainless steel strips about two inches long and one inch wide,
and left residues of material near the holes. Examination of the
metal strips after the flight using electron microscopy revealed
holes ranging in size from half a micron (millionth of a meter) to
135 microns in diameter. This made possible estimates of the
number of micrometorites of various sizes bombarding the earth.
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