Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “astrophysics space missions cosmic rays”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2016

The Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE)

The Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) is an exciting international collaboration for a scientific mission that dramatically brings together the unique talents of the partners to expand observation space by simultaneously adding polarization measurements to the array of source properties currently measured (energy, time, and location). IXPE uniquely brings to the table polarimetric imaging. IXPE will thus open new dimensions for understanding how X-ray emission is produced in astrophysical objects, especially systems under extreme physical conditions-such as neutron stars and black holes. Polarization singularly probes physical anisotropies-ordered magnetic fields, aspheric matter distributions, or general relativistic coupling to black-hole spin-that are not otherwise measurable. Hence, IXPE complements all other investigations in high-energy astrophysics by adding important and relatively unexplored information to the parameter space for studying cosmic X-ray sources and processes, as well as for using extreme astrophysical environments as laboratories for fundamental physics.

X-ray astronomy x-ray polarimetry↗
NASA NTRS1999

Constellation-X Spectroscopy X-Ray Telescope Requirements and Development Program: MSFC Research Program

The Constellation-X Spectroscopy X-ray Telescope (SXT) will provide high-throughput, high-resolution spectroscopy of cosmic sources, from 0.25 keV to 10 keV. Key to this capability is the development of large (1.6 m diameter), lightweight optics for the SXT mirror assembly. Teams led by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), and by Italy's Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera (OAB) are currently developing competing mirror technologies for this planned mission. Each team is making significant research progress in developing mirror technologies which satisfy the SXT requirements for lightweight optics, consistent with a system-level optical performance of better than 15 arcsec half-power diameter. The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), in collaboration with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO), has focussed its efforts on full-shell replicated optics, of electroformed nickel alloys. Recent progress in identifying a surface treatment to effect low, controlled adhesion and, more significantly, in developing new high-strength nickel alloys make this a viable, low cost approach to satisfying the SXT requirements.

O'Dell, S. L.↗
NASA NTRS2004

An Efficient End-To-End Model for the Kepler Photometer

The Kepler Mission is designed to characterize the frequency of Earth-sized planets in the habitable zones of solar-like stars in the solar galactic neighborhood by observing >100,000 main-sequence stars in a >100 square degree field of view (FOV) and seeking evidence of transiting planets. As part of the system engineering effort, we have developed an End-To-End Model (ETEM) of the photometer to better characterize the expected performance of the instrument and to guide us in making design trades. This model incorporates engineering information such as the point spread function, time histories of pointing offsets, operating temperature, quantization noise, the effects of shutterless readout, and read noise. Astrophysical parameters, such as a realistic distribution of stars vs. magnitude for the chosen FOV, zodiacal light, and cosmic ray events are also included. For a given set of design and operating parameters, ETEM generates pixel time series for all pixels of interest for a single CCD channel of the photometer. These time series are then processed to form light curves for the target stars and the impact of various noise sources on the combined differential photometric precision can be determined. This model is of particular value when investigating the effects of noise sources that cannot be easily subjected to direct analysis, such as residual pointing offsets, thermal drift or cosmic ray effects. This version of ETEM features extremely efficient computation times relative to the previous version while maintaining a high degree of fidelity with respect to the realism of the relevant phenomena.

performance modeling↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Moss Tolerance of Deep Space-Like Ionizing Radiation, Singular or Combined With Spaceflight Microgravity-Preparation for the BRIC-27 Experiment to the ISS

Understanding how terrestrial life perceives and tolerates deep space environments is essential to advancing human space exploration missions and searching for life beyond our solar system. Throughout evolution moss adapted to living in extreme environments from the edge of habitability. Moss inhabits areas with high UVB/UVC photon levels such as polar regions subject to ozone holes, high elevation mountain environments, and sites with elevated ionizing particle levels such as those found at nuclear plant accident sites, atomic bomb test sites or radioactive element-rich regions. We investigate if moss tolerance of ionizing radiation encounter terrestrially extends to resistance to deep space ionizing radiation. We exposed moss to high energy ion beams simulating Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCRSim) and Solar Particle Event (SPESim) (NSRL, BNL) that permeate deep space, and moss was unharmed. We also exposed moss to high doses of gamma rays as released in astrophysical events, and moss survived absorption of extremely high doses. Next, we ask if moss tolerance of deep space-like ionizing radiation observed terrestrially differs from that in other deep space environments. In the upcoming BRIC-27 spaceflight experiment we will sequentially expose Antarctic moss C.purpureus to GCRSim and SPESim followed by exposure to spaceflight microgravity and compare gene expression profiles in deep space-like ionizing radiation, singular or combined with spaceflight microgravity. Additionally, we will compare gene expression profiles in spaceflight microgravity, singular or combined with deep space-like ionizing radiation. Hence, BRIC-27 will advance our understanding of the combined effects of both deep space ionizing radiation and microgravity, which may have different and more profound effects on plant physiology and performance than each condition separately.

Agata Klaudia Zupanska↗
NASA NTRS2012

Three Decades of High Energy Transients

Gamma-Ray Bursts are the most brilliant explosions in space. The first GRB was discovered on 1967, just over 40 years ago. It took several years and multiple generations of space and ground instruments to unravel some of the mysteries of this phenomenon. However, many questions remain open today. I will discuss the history, evolution and current status of the GRB field and its contributions in our understanding of the transient high energy sky. Finally, I will describe how GRBs can be utilized in future missions as tools, to probe the cosmic chemical evolution of the Universe Magnetars are magnetically powered rotating neutron stars with extreme magnetic fields (over 10(exp 14) Gauss). They were discovered in the X- and gamma-rays where they predominantly emit their radiation. Very few sources (roughly 24) have been found since their discovery in 1987. NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope was launched June 11, 2009; since then the Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) recorded emission from several magnetar sources. In total, six new sources were discovered between 2008 and 2011, with a synergy between Swift, RXTE, Fermi and the Interplanetary Network (IPN). I will give a short history of magnetars and describe how this, once relatively esoteric field, has emerged as a link between several astrophysical areas including Gamma-Ray Bursts.

Kouveliotou, Chryssa↗
NASA NTRS2009

The Orbiting Wide-Angle Light Collectors (OWL) Mission for Charged-Particle Astronomy

The space-based OWL mission is designed to perform high-statistics measurements of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECR) using the Earth's atmosphere as a vast particle calorimeter, furthering the field of charged-particle astronomy. OWL has been developed in formal NASA instrument and mission studies and is comprised of two large telescopes separated by approx.600 km in 1000 km, near-equatorial orbits to stereoscopically image the near-UV air fluorescence emitted by UHECR-induced particle cascades. The High Resolution Fly's Eye (HiRes) Collaboration, and subsequently the Pierre Auger Observatory, recently reported confirmation of the expected Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin (GZK) suppression of the UHECR flux above a few times 10(exp 19) eV. This observation is consistent with the majority of UHECR originating in astrophysical objects and reduces the need to invoke exotic physical processes. Particles observed above the GZK threshold energy must have come from sources within about 100 Mpc from the Earth. The small particle deflection angles expected at UHECR energies, with standard assumptions of extragalactic magnetic fields, are on the order of 1 degree. Thus by observing particles above the GZK threshold with sufficient exposure, there is the potential of identifying and characterizing individual UHECR sources. Auger has reported significant anisotropy in the arrival directions of UHECR at energies above about 6 10(exp 19) eV observed in the South, and a correlation to AGN in the 12th VCV catalog, suggesting that the sources of UHECR are traced by the distribution of luminous matter in the Universe. However, with similar statistics and the same event selection criteria, HiRes observations in the North are consistent with isotropy. Extended observations by Auger-South, by Telescope Array in the North, and possibly by the proposed Auger-North, will further these investigations. However, much greater exposures will be required to fully identify individual sources and measure their cosmic ray spectra. A five-year OWL mission would deliver approximately 10(exp 6)sq km/sr/yr of exposure with full aperture reached at approx. 10(exp 19) eV. The baseline 3 m optical aperture OWL telescopes with 45 degree full field-of-view are easily accomodated on a single conventional launch vehicle. On orbit, the simultaneous viewing of the same volume of atmosphere allows for precise stereo event reconstruction, which is nearly independent of the inclination of the particle track and tolerant of atmospheric conditions. The availability of monocular operation provides increased reliability or can be employed to increase the instantaneous aperture. In stereo mode, OWL is also capable of fully reconstructing horizontal or upward-moving showers and so has unmatched sensitivity to neutrino-induced events. The details of the OWL mission will he presented and its science capabilities will be discussed.

Mitchell, John↗
NASA NTRS1994

A model of galactic cosmic rays for use in calculating linear energy transfer spectra

The Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR) contain fully stripped nuclei, from Hydrogen to beyond the Iron group, accelerated to high energies and are a major component of the background radiation encountered by satellites and interplanetary spacecraft. This paper presents a GCR model which is based upon our current understanding of the astrophysics of GCR transport through interstellar and interplanetary space. The model can be used to predict the energy spectra for all stable and long-lived radioactive species from H to Ni over an energy range from 50 to 50,000 MeV/nucleon as a function of a single parameter, the solar modulation level phi. The details of this model are summarized, phi is derived for the period 1974 to present, and results from this model during the 1990/1991 Combined Release and Radiation Effects Satellite (CRRES) mission are presented.

Chen, J.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Ulysses Launch

Ulysses is a joint mission between the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA) to explore the heliosphere over the full range of solar latitudes, especially in the polar regions. The goal of the Ulysses mission is to provide an accurate assessment of our total solar environment. This collaborative ESA/NASA mission will, for the first time, explore the heliosphere -- the region of space that is dominated by the Sun-- within a few astronomical units of the Sun over the full range of heliographic latitudes. The path followed by the spacecraft, using a Jupiter gravity-assist to achieve a trajectory extending to high solar latitudes, will enable the highly sophisticated scientific instruments on board to make measurements in the uncharted third dimension of the heliosphere. The Ulysses spacecraft will carry nine scientific instruments to measure the properties of the solar corona, the solar wind, the Sun/wind interface, the heliospheric magnetic field, solar radio bursts, plasma waves, solar X-rays, solar and galactic cosmic rays, and the interplanetary/interstellar neutral gas and dust. Scientists will take advantage of the enormous distance between the spacecraft and the Earth to perform astrophysical measurements and to search for gravitational waves. In conjunction with instrumentation on Earth-orbiting spacecraft, Ulysses will help to precisely locate the mysterious sources of cosmic gamma bursts. The results obtained will help to solve outstanding problems in solar and heliospheric physics, while undoubtedly revealing new and unanticipated phenomena.

Source record↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

High EneRgy Observatory for Imaging X-rays (HEROIX) Mission Concept

The High EneRgy Observatory for Imaging X-rays (HEROIX) is a next-generation broadband X-ray space telescope concept under development as a Medium-Class Explorer mission. Building on more than three decades of replicated NiCo shell technology at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, HEROIX will deliver 5 arcsecond half-power-diameter imaging resolution in the hard X-ray band. The observatory will incorporate four co-aligned telescopes with advanced multilayer coatings, extending the bandpass into the hard X-ray regime and providing an integrated effective area of 380 cm² at 30 keV. A suite of focal plane detectors will enable imaging capability throughout its 1–80 keV bandpass. This combination of angular resolution and high-energy coverage will open new windows into non-thermal processes in extreme astrophysical environments. HEROIXwill deliver transformative science, advancing the astrophysics community’s understanding of supernova physics, the X-ray binary population of the Galactic Center, accretion-driven galaxy evolution, and the origin of the Cosmic X-ray Background.

Nick Thomas↗
NASA NTRS2008

The Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer

The Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICE) will be a Mission of Opportunity dedicated to the study of neutron stars, the only places in the universe where all four fundamental forces of nature are simultaneously in play. NICE will explore the exotic states of matter within neutron stars, revealing their interior and surface compositions through rotation resolved X-ray spectroscopy. Absolute time-referenced data will allow NICE to probe the extreme physical environments associated with neutron stars, leveraging observations across the electromagnetic spectrum to answer decades-old questions about one of the most powerful cosmic accelerators known. Finally, NICE will definitively measure stabilities of pulsars as clocks, with implications for navigation, a pulsar-based timescale, and gravitational-wave detection. NICE will fly on the International Space Station, while GLAST is on orbit and post-RXTE, and will allow for the discovery of new high-energy pulsars and provide continuity in X-ray timing astrophysics.

Gendreau, Keith C.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Neutrino Target-of-Opportunity Observations with Space-based and Suborbital Optical Cherenkov Detectors

Cosmic-ray accelerators capable of reaching ultra-high energies are expected to also produce very high energy neutrinos via hadronic interactions within the source or its surrounding environment. Many of the candidate astrophysical source classes are either transient in nature or exhibit flaring activity. Using the Earth as a neutrino converter, suborbital and space-based optical Cherenkov detectors, such as POEMMA and EUSO-SPB2, will be able to detect upward-moving extensive air showers induced by decaying tau-leptons generated from cosmic tau neutrinos with energies ∼ 10 PeV and above. Both EUSO-SPB2 and POEMMA will be able to quickly repoint, enabling rapid response to astrophysical transient events. We calculate the transient sensitivity and sky coverage for both EUSO-SPB2 and POEMMA, accounting for constraints imposed by the Sun and the Moon on the observation time. We also calculate both detectors’ neutrino horizons for a variety of modeled astrophysical neutrino fluences. We find that both EUSO-SPB2 and POEMMA will achieve transient sensitivities at the level of modeled neutrino fluences for nearby sources. We conclude with a discussion of the prospects of each mission detecting at least one transient event for various modeled astrophysical neutrino sources.

Tonia M Venters↗
NASA NTRS2016

NASA's Physics of the Cosmos and Cosmic Origins Technology Development Programs

The strategic astrophysics missions of the coming decades will help answer the questions "How did our universe begin and evolve?" and "How did galaxies, stars, and planets come to be?" Enabling these missions requires advances in key technologies far beyond the current state of the art. NASA's Physics of the Cosmos (PCOS) and Cosmic Origins (COR) Program Offices manage technology maturation projects funded through the Strategic Astrophysics Technology (SAT) program to accomplish such advances. The PCOS and COR Program Offices, residing at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), were established in 2011, and serve as the implementation arm for the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. We present an overview of the Programs' technology development activities and the current technology investment portfolio of 23 technology advancements. We discuss the process for addressing community-provided technology gaps and Technology Management Board (TMB)-vetted prioritization and investment recommendations that inform the SAT program. The process improves the transparency and relevance of our technology investments, provides the community a voice in the process, and promotes targeted external technology investments by defining needs and identifying customers. The Programs' priorities are driven by strategic direction from the Astrophysics Division, which is informed by the National Research Council's (NRC) "New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics" (NWNH) 2010 Decadal Survey report [1], the Astrophysics Implementation Plan (AIP) [2] as updated, and the Astrophysics Roadmap "Enduring Quests, Daring Visions" [3]. These priorities include technology development for missions to study dark energy, gravitational waves, X-ray and inflation probe science, and large far-infrared (IR) and ultraviolet (UV)/optical/IR telescopes to conduct imaging and spectroscopy studies. The SAT program is the Astrophysics Division's main investment method to mature technologies that will be identified by study teams set up to inform the 2020 Decadal Survey process on several large astrophysics mission concepts.

SPIE paper↗
NASA NTRS2014

NASA's Physics of the Cosmos and Cosmic Origins Technology Development Programs

NASA's Physics of the Cosmos (PCOS) and Cosmic Origins (COR) Program Offices, established in 2011, reside at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The offices serve as the implementation arm for the Astrophysics Division at NASA Headquarters. We present an overview of the programs' technology development activities and technology investment portfolio, funded by NASA's Strategic Astrophysics Technology (SAT) program. We currently fund 19 technology advancements to enable future PCOS and COR missions to help answer the questions "How did our universe begin and evolve?" and "How did galaxies, stars, and planets come to be?" We discuss the process for addressing community-provided technology gaps and Technology Management Board (TMB)-vetted prioritization and investment recommendations that inform the SAT program. The process improves the transparency and relevance of our technology investments, provides the community a voice in the process, and promotes targeted external technology investments by defining needs and identifying customers. The programs' goal is to promote and support technology development needed to enable missions envisioned by the National Research Council's (NRC) "New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics" (NWNH) Decadal Survey report [1] and the Astrophysics Implementation Plan (AIP) [2]. These include technology development for dark energy, gravitational waves, X-ray and inflation probe science, and a 4m-class UV/optical telescope to conduct imaging and spectroscopy studies, as a post-Hubble observatory with significantly improved sensitivity and capability.

Technology Management Board (TMB)↗
NASA NTRS2019

MeV Emission from Pulsar Wind Nebulae: Understanding Extreme Particle Acceleration in Highly Relativistic Outflows

The Earth is constantly bombarded from outer space by energetic particles. Where and how these "cosmic rays" are produced is poorly understood, with various particle types and energies likely originating from different sources. Particularly mysterious is the source of high-energy e+/- produced in our Galaxy, especially those responsible for both the high fraction of e+ in the GeV cosmic ray lepton spectrum and the e+/- and observed excess of microwaves and gamma-rays detected towards the Galactic center and bulge. While these particles could be evidence for exotic forms of dark matter, they might also be produced by "normal" astrophysical sources such as pulsars the strongly magnetized, rapidly rotating neutron stars whose rotational energy powers an ultra-relativistic outflow (commonly referred to as a "pulsar wind") whose interaction with the surrounding medium creates a pulsar wind nebula .While the detection of TeV emission from numerous PWNe strongly suggest they contain e+/- with PeV or higher energies, how and to what energies these particles are produced is unknown, let alone their dependence on the properties of the pulsar, pulsar wind, and surrounding medium. A major reason for this uncertainty is the lack of information concerning their MeV properties, since the synchrotron emission from the highest energy e+/- peaks in this waveband. Only by combining the MeV spectrum of PWNe measured by proposed missions with that obtained at lower (primarily radio and X-ray) and higher (TeV) photon energies by current and hopefully future facilities is it possible to measure the full spectrum of e+/- in these sources. The resultant insights into the underlying acceleration mechanism would significantly impact many areas of astrophysics from indirect searches for dark matter to the origin of cosmic rays to the physics of relativistic outflows observed from active galactic nuclei, gamma-ray bursts, and some gravitational wave events.

Gelfand, Joseph D.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Statistical Validation of Multiple Related Data Sets—Case Study Using Interstellar Boundary Explorer Satellite Data

Abstract Space scientists often face the question of whether data collected by different instruments are measurements of the same source population. This paper proposes a statistical validation method for evaluating the agreement between such related data sets. It offers a detailed case study focused on validating a new data set from the Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission, which serves as a practical how-to guide for similar analyses. Since 2008, the IBEX satellite has been gathering data on heliospheric energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) while being exposed to various sources of background noise, such as cosmic rays and solar energetic particles. The IBEX mission initially released only a qualified triple-coincidence (qABC) data product, which was designed to provide observations of ENAs free of background contamination. Further measurements revealed that the qABC data were in fact susceptible to contamination, having relatively low ENA counts and high background rates. To mitigate this issue, the mission team recently considered releasing a certain qualified double-coincidence (qBC) data product, which has roughly twice the detection rate of the qABC data product. This paper presents a simulation-based validation of the new qBC data product against the already-released qABC data product. The results show that the qBCs can plausibly be said to be measuring the same source population as the qABCs up to an average absolute deviation of 3.6%. Visual diagnostics provide additional confirmation of source rate coherence across data products. The framework introduced here is general and can be applied to other validation problems both within and outside the field of space physics.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2003

The ATIC Long Duration Balloon Project

Long Duration Balloon (LDB) scientific experiments, launched to circumnavigate the south pole over Antarctica, have particular advantages compared to Shuttle or other Low Earth Orbit (LEO) missions in terms of cost, weight, scientific 'duty factor' and work force development. The Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter (ATIC) cosmic ray astrophysics experiment is a good example of a university-based project that takes full advantage of current LDB capability. The ATIC experiment is currently being prepared for its first LDB science flight that will investigate the charge composition and energy spectra of primary cosmic rays over the energy range from about 10(exp 10) to 10(exp 14) eV. The instrument is built around a fully active, Bismuth Germanate (BGO) ionization calorimeter to measure the energy deposited by the cascades formed by particles interacting in a thick carbon target. A highly segmented silicon matrix, located above the target, provides good incident charge resolution plus rejection of the 'backscattered' particles from the interaction. Trajectory reconstruction is based on the cascade profile in the BGO calorimeter, plus information from the three pairs of scintillator hodoscope layers in the target section above it. A full evaluation of the experiment was performed during a test flight occurring between 28 December 2000 and 13 January 2001 where ATIC was carried to an altitude of approx. 37 km above Antarctica by an approx. 850,000 cu m helium filled balloon for one circumnavigation of the continent. All systems behaved well, the detectors performed as expected, more than 43 gigabytes of engineering and cosmic ray event data was returned and these data are now undergoing preliminary data analysis. During the coming 2002-2003 Antarctica summer season, we are preparing for a ATIC science flight with approx. 15 to 30 days of continuous data collection in the near-space environment of LDB float altitudes.

Guzik, T. G.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Testing Special Relativity at High Energies with Astrophysical Sources

Since the group of Lorentz boosts is unbounded, there is a question as to whether Lorentz invariance (LI) holds to infinitely short distances. However, special and general relativity may break down at the Planck scale. Various quantum gravity scenarios such as loop quantum gravity, as well as some forms of string theory and extra dimension models may imply Lorentz violation (LV) at ultrahigh energies. The Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), to be launched in mid-December, will measure the spectra of distant extragalactic sources of high energy gamma-rays, particularly active galactic nuclei and gamma-ray bursts. GLAST can look for energy-dependent gamma-ray propagation effects from such sources as a signal of Lorentz invariance violation. These sources may also exhibit the high energy cutoffs predicted to be the result of intergalactic annihilation interactions with low energy photons having a flux level as determined by various astronomical observations. With LV the threshold for such interactions can be significantly raised, changing the predicted absorption turnover in the observed spectrum of the sources. Stecker and Glashow have shown that the existence such absorption features in the spectra of extragalactic sources puts constraints on LV. Such constraints have important implications for some quantum gravity and large extra dimension models. Future spaceborne detectors dedicated to measuring gamma-ray polarization can look for birefringence effects as a possible signal of loop quantum gravity. A very small LV may also result in the modification or elimination of the GZK effect, thus modifying the spectrum of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays. This possibility can be explored with ground-based arrays such as Auger or with a space based detector system such as the proposed OWL satellite mission.

Stecker, F. W.↗
DOE OSTI2022

AMS Thermal Cooling System (Final Report)

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) is a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored particle physics experiment on the International Space Station (ISS). AMS is exploring some of the most fundamental questions in physics such as understanding dark matter, antimatter, the origin of cosmic rays and their characteristics as well as searching for new physics phenomena in the universe. It has recorded more than 200 billion cosmic rays since its launch in May 2011. Over time, anomalies associated with the dedicated cooling system of the AMS Silicon Tracker system were observed, leading to the discovery of progressive deterioration in the functioning of the cooling system's four redundant pumps. The Tracker is crucial to the scientific mission of AMS, as it is the only subdetector that can distinguish matter from antimatter. This report details the successful program of work for the installation of the Upgraded Tracker Thermal Pump System (UTTPS) on AMS. This program included: identifying the root cause of deterioration in the original pumps; design, production, testing, and integration of the new UTTPS cooling system; launch of the UTTPS to ISS; installation of the UTTPS in AMS across a series of four complex extra-vehicular activities (EVAs); and establishment of a dedicated Flight Simulator Laboratory to test the performance of the UTTPS under various thermal conditions. This program was critical to the success of the AMS experiment, and its successful completion will enable AMS to continue taking data through 2030.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗