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Materials International Space Station Experiment - 1 and 2 (MISSE-1_and_2)
03.13.09

Overview | Description | Applications | Operations | Results | Publications | Images

Experiment/Payload Overview

Brief Summary

MISSE-1 and 2 are a test bed for materials and coatings attached to the outside of the ISS is being evaluated for the effects of atomic oxygen, direct sunlight, and extremes of heat and cold. This experiment allows the development and testing of new materials to better withstand the rigors of space environments. Results will provide a better understanding of the durability of various materials when they are exposed to the space environment. Many of the materials may have applications in the design of future spacecraft.

Principal Investigator

  • William H. Kinard, Ph.D., Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA

    • Co-Investigator(s)/Collaborator(s)

    Information Pending

    Payload Developer


    Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
    Phantom Works, Boeing, Renton, WA
    Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA

    Sponsoring Agency

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

    Expeditions Assigned

    |3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|

    Previous ISS Missions

    NASA has conducted a series of space experiments to determine the best materials to survive in the space environment. During mission STS-76, the shuttle crew attached the Mir Environmental Effects Payload (MEEP) on Mir. One and a half years later the crew of the STS-86 mission retrieved the MEEP and brought it back to earth for analysis. Shuttle flight STS-85 featured the Evaluation of Space Environment and Effects on Materials study which tested thin polymer films that contained phenylphosphine oxide which, when exposed to space conditions, formed a phosphate barrier that protected the films from further attacks of atomic oxygen. The Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) was another materials test in the space environment. It orbited in space for five and a half years before being returned to Earth for analysis of the materials that were tested.

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    Experiment/Payload Description

    Research Summary

    • MISSE-1 and 2 is the first of three investigations that will assess impacts of the space environment (vacuum, solar radiation, atomic oxygen and micrometeorites) on materials.


    • MISSE Passive Experiment Containers (PEC) 1 and 2 contain over 400 candidate spacecraft materials (optics, sensors, electronics, coatings and structural materials) that have been exposed to the hostile environment of space from August 2001 - August 2005.


    • Following return to Earth these materials will be analyzed to determine which materials could withstand the harsh environment of space and can be used in the design of future spacecraft.

    Description

    Researchers from the private and public sector prepared a wide range of samples for the first externally mounted experiment on ISS. Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE)-1 and -2 are testbeds for more than 400 materials and coatings samples, testing their survivability under the corrosive effects of the space environment; including micrometeoroid and orbital debris strikes, atomic oxygen attack, intense ultraviolet radiation from the sun, and extreme temperature swings. Results will provide a better understanding of the durability of various materials in this environment. Many of the materials may have applications in the design of future spacecraft.

    Both MISSE-1 and -2 were deployed in August 2001 on Expedition 3 and were planned for a one-year exposure. Due to the delays incurred following the Columbia accident, they were not retrieved until four years later during ISS Expedition 11 in August 2005. Follow-on samples are now on board station (MISSE-3 and 4) or are planned for the future (MISSE-6). MISSE-5 was returned to Earth after a year of exposure in September 2006.

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    Applications

    Space Applications

    Results will provide a better understanding of the durability of various materials when they are exposed to the space environment. Many of the materials may have applications in the design of future spacecraft.

    Earth Applications

    The new advanced materials and components that will be demonstrated in MISSE will improve the performance, increase the useful life, and reduce the costs of future space operations of commercial weather, communication and Earth observation satellites that we all now depend on.

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    Operations

    Operational Requirements

    MISSE is mounted to the Station's exterior on the airlock. It is a passive experiment requiring no power or crew interaction. The critical interaction is between the samples and the space environment.

    Operational Protocols

    During extravehicular activity (EVA) on August 16, 2001, astronauts installed the MISSE PEC 1 and 2 on the Quest airlock of ISS. During subsequent EVAs, crewmembers captured snapshots of the MISSE PECs, if time permitted. In August 2005, during an EVA, Increment 11 crewmembers retrieved the MISSE PECs. The samples were returned to the investigators, who will carefully examine each to determine how the materials fared.

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    Results/More Information

    In late 2005, 35 investigators taking part in MISSE-1 and -2 traveled to NASA Langley Research Center to inspect their samples and prepare them for return to their respective laboratories for further analysis. Researchers taking part in this investigation have interests in polymers, thermal control coatings, nano-composites, radiation shielding, environmental monitors, and marking processes designed to label parts that will be exposed to the space environment. The primary data from MISSE will be obtained by comparing the preflight laboratory characterization of the test specimens with postflight laboratory characterizations made after the specimens are retrieved.

    While the samples are still under investigation, researchers indicate that over 100 micrometeoroid and space debris strikes were found. Many polymer film samples were completely eroded by atomic oxygen, but some samples survived and are undergoing analysis. Some particulate contamination was observed. Optical property changes in thermal control materials were also observed. Several materials did well in the harsh environment. Lack of widespread molecular contamination on MISSE gives confidence in using station for future material studies. A number of results are anticipated to be released over the next few years.

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    Related Web Sites
  • NASA Fact Sheet
  • MISSE Experiment
  • Langley News
  • Students Win Siemens Award for Space Station Experiment

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    Publications

    Results Publications
    • Dever JA, Miller SK, Sechkar EA, Wittberg TN. Space Environment Exposure of Polymer Films on the Materials International Space Station Experiment: Results from MISSE 1 and MISSE 2. Sage. 2008 ;20; 371.
    • de Groh Kim K, Banks BA, Mccarthy CE, Rucker RN, Roberts LM, Berger LA. MISSE 2 PEACE Polymers Atomic Oxygen Erosion Experiment on the International Space Station. Sage. 2008 ;20; 388.
    • de Groh KK, Banks BA, Dever JA, Jaworske DA, Miller SK, Sechkar E, Panko SR. NASA Glenn Research Center?s Materials International Space Station Experiments. NASA/TM. 2008 ;2008-215482.
    • Rice N, Shepp A, Haghighat R, Connell J. Durable TOR Polymers on MISSE. National Space and Missile Materials Symposium. Keystone, CO. 25-29 Jun, 2007 [ITAR Restricted].
    • Juhl SB, Akinlemibola B, Kasten L, Vaia R. Durability of Poly(Caprolactam) (Nylon 6) and Poly(Caprolactam) Nanocomposites in Low Earth Orbit. National Space and Missile Materials Symposium. Keystone, CO. 25-29 Jun, 2007 [ITAR Restricted].
    • Tomczak SJ, Marchant D, Mabry JM, Vij V, Yandek GR, Minton TK, Brunsvold AL, Wright ME, Petteys BJ, Guenthner AJ. Studies of POSS-Polyimides Flown on MISSE-1. National Space and Missile Materials Symposium. Keystone, CO. 25-29 Jun, 2007 [ITAR Restricted].
    • Harvey GA, Kinard WH. MISSE 1 and 2 Tray Temperature measurements. Proceedings of MISSE Post Retrieval Conference and the 2006 National Space & Missile Materials Symposium. 2006 .
    • de Groh K, Banks B. MISSE PEACE Polymers Atomic Oxygen Erosion Results. NASA/TM--2006- 214482. 2006 .
    • Watson KA, Ghose S, Lillehei PT, Smith Jr. JG, Connell JW. Effect of LEO Exposure on Aromatic Polymers Containing Phenylphosphine Oxide Groups. SAMPE Proceedings. Baltimore, MD. June 6, 2007 ;(52) [ITAR Restricted].
    • Snyder, Aaron, Banks, Bruce A., Waters, Deborah L. Undercutting Studies of Protected Kapton H Exposed to In-Space and Ground-Based Atomic Oxygen. NASA TM. 2006 ;2006-214387.
    • deGroh, Kim K., Banks, Bruce A., McCarthy, Catherine E, Rucker, Rochelle N., Roberts, Lily M., Berger, Lauren A. MISSE PEACE Polymers Atomic Oxygen Erosion Results. NASA TM. 2006 ;2006-214482
    • Finckenor MM. The Materials on International Space Station Experiment (MISSE): First Results from MSFC Investigations. Proceedings of the 44th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibit, Reno, NV. Jan 9 - 12, 2006 ;AIAA 2006-472.

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    Related Publications
    • Hunt, P. Return From Space: The PEACE Team Eight Years In. Hathaway Brown Alumnae Magazine. ;2:34-35. 2006
    • de Groh KK, Banks BA, Hammerstrom AM, Youngstrom EE, Kaminski C, Marx LM, Fine ES. MISSE PEACE Polymers: An International Space Station Environmental Exposure Experiment. NASA TM. ;2001-211311. 2001
    • Dever J, Miller S, Messer R, Sechkar E, Tollis G. Exposure of Polymer Film Thermal Control Materials on the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE). NASA TM. ;2002-211363. 2002

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    Images

    imageNASA Image: ISS003E5863 - Close up of the experiment trays in MISSE, open and exposed to space.
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    imageNASA Image: ISS006E46361 - Oblique view of MISSE attached to the ISS airlock.
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    imageISS004E8043 - Location of one of the MISSE PECs on the ISS.
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    imageNASA Image: ISS009E22432 - Close up of MISSE with Earth backdrop.
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    imageNASA Image: ISS009E22435 - MISSE on the ISS, over cloud tops.
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    imageNASA Image: ISS005E17107 - Oblique view of MISSE with Earth and space background.
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    imageNASA Image: STS105-346-007 - Astronaut Patrick G. Forrester, during the second STS-105 extravehicular activity, prepares to work with the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE). The experiment was installed on the outside of the Quest Airlock during the first extravehicular activity (EVA) of the STS-105 mission. MISSE will collect information on how different materials weather in the environment of space.
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    Information Provided and Updated by the ISS Program Scientist's Office
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