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NASA NTRS1990

The Genesis Solar Wind Sample Return Mission

The Genesis spacecraft was launched on August 8 from Cape Canaveral on a journey to become the first spacecraft to return from interplanetary space. The fifth in NASA's line of low-cost Discovery-class missions, its goal is to collect samples of solar wind and return them to Earth for detailed isotopic and elemental analysis. The spacecraft is to collect solar wind for over two years, while circling the L1 point 1.5 million km sunward of the earth, before heading back for a capsule-style re-entry in September, 2004. After parachute deployment, a mid-air helicopter recovery will be used to avoid a hard landing. The mission has been in the planning stages for over ten years. Its cost, including development, mission operations, and sample analysis, is approximately $209M. The Genesis science team, headed by principal investigator Donald Burnett of Caltech, consists of approximately 20 co-investigators from universities and science centers around the country and internationally. The spacecraft consists of a relatively flat spacecraft bus containing most of the subsystem components, situated below a sample return capsule (SRC) which holds the solar-wind collection substrates and an electrostatic solar wind concentrator. Some of the collectors are exposed throughout the collection period, for a sample of bulk solar wind, while others are exposed only to certain solar wind regimes, or types of flow. Ion and electron spectrometers feed raw data to the spacecraft control and data-handling (C&DH) unit, which determines ion moments and electron flux geometries in real time. An algorithm is used to robotically decide between interstream (IS), coronal hole (CH), and coronal mass ejection (CME) regimes, and to control deployment of the proper arrays to sample these wind regimes independently. This is the first time such a solar-wind decision algorithm has been used on board a spacecraft.

Wiens, Roger C.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Genesis Solar Wind Sample Curation Facility

The controlled access facility designed and constructed for storing and examining Genesis solar wind samples consists of two adjacent laboratories, both ISO Class 4 cleanrooms (vertical laminar flow, ULPA filtered). One cleanroom is equipped with ultrapure water (UPW) for experimental cleaning of containers and tools used in handling the solar wind samples, flight hardware and witness plates. The ultrapure water is also used for cleaning the solar wind samples. The other cleanroom is for long-term nitrogen storage of samples and for examination and processing of Genesis samples.

Curation Facility↗
NASA NTRS2018

Three Proposed Compendia for Genesis Solar Wind Samples: Science Results, Collector Materials Characterization and Cleaning Techniques

Final Paper and not the abstract is attached. Introduction: Planetary material and cosmochemistry research using Genesis solar wind samples (including the development and implementation of cleaning and analytical techniques) has matured sufficiently that compilations on several topics, if made publically accessible, would be beneficial for researchers and reviewers. We propose here three compendia based on content, organization and source of documents (e.g. published peer-reviewed, published, internal memos, archives). For planning purposes, suggestions are solicited from potential users of Genesis solar wind samples for the type of science content and/or organizational style that would be most useful to them. These compendia are proposed as living documents, periodically updated. Similar to the existing compendia described below, the curation compendia are like library or archival finding aids, they are guides to published or archival documents and should not be cited as primary sources.

Allton, J. H.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Genesis Solar Wind Sample Curation: A Progress Report

In the year since the Genesis solar wind collector fragments were returned, early science samples, specimens for cleaning experiments, and science allocations have been distributed. Solar wind samples are stored under nitrogen and handled in an ISO Class 4 (Class 10) laboratory. For array collector fragments, a basic characterization process has been established. This characterization consists of identification of solar wind regime, whole fragment image for identification and surface quality, higher magnification images for contaminant particle density, and assessment of molecular film contaminant thickness via ellipsometry modeling. Compilations of this characterization data for AuOS (gold film on sapphire), and sapphire from the bulk solar wind for fragments greater than 2 cm are available. Removal of contaminant particles using flowing ultrapure water (UPW) energized megasonically is provided as requested.

Allton, Judith H.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Genesis Solar-Wind Sample Return Mission: The Materials

The Genesis spacecraft has two primary instruments which passively collect solar wind. The first is the collector arrays , a set of panels, each of which can deploy separately to sample the different kinds of solar wind (regimes). The second is the concentrator, an electrostatic mirror which will concentrate ions of mass 4 through mass 25 by about a factor of 20 by focusing them onto a 6 cm diameter target. When not deployed, these instruments fit into a compact canister. After a two year exposure time, the deployed instruments can be folded up, sealed into the canister, and returned to earth for laboratory analysis. Both the collector arrays and the concentrator will contain suites of ultra-high purity target materials, each of which is tailored to enable the analysis of a different family of elements. This abstract is meant to give a brief overview of the Genesis mission, insight into what materials were chosen for flight and why, as well as head s up information as to what will be available to planetary scientist for analysis when the solar-wind samples return to Earth in 2003. Earth. The elemental and isotopic abundances of the solar wind will be analyzed in state-of-the-art laboratories, and a portion of the sample will be archived for the use of future generations of planetary scientists. Technical information about the mission can be found at www.gps.caltech.edu/genesis.

Jurewicz, A. J. G.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Genesis Solar Wind Samples: Update of Availability

The Genesis mission collected solar wind atoms for 28 months with a variety of collectors. The array wafer collector availability is displayed in the online catalog. The purpose of this report is to update the community on availability of array wafer samples and to preview other collectors which are in the process of being added to the online catalog. A total of fifteen pure materials were selected based on engineering and science requirements. Most of the materials were semiconductor wafers which were mounted on the arrays.

Gonzalez, C. P.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Development of Chemical and Mechanical Cleaning Procedures for Genesis Solar Wind Samples

The Genesis mission was the only mission returning pristine solar material to Earth since the Apollo program. Unfortunately, the return of the spacecraft on September 8, 2004 resulted in a crash landing shattering the solar wind collectors into smaller fragments and exposing them to desert soil and other debris. Thorough surface cleaning is required for almost all fragments to allow for subsequent analysis of solar wind material embedded within. However, each collector fragment calls for an individual cleaning approach, as contamination not only varies by collector material but also by sample itself.

Schmeling, M.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Genesis Solar-Wind Sample Return Mission: The Materials

This abstract is a brief overview of the Genesis mission. Included is an instrument description, what materials were chosen for capturing solar wind and why, and information as to what will be available for analysis when the samples return to Earth in 2003.

Jurewicz, A. J. G.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Ultrapure Water System at JSC for High Purity Cleaning of Flight Hardware, Astromaterial Handling Tools and Solar Wind Samples

Use of Ultrapure Water (UPW) for cleaning of astromaterial sample handling tools and containers was driven by the discontinuation of Freon 113 as a cleaning solvent, due to environmental concerns. Freon 113, recycled using distillation, was very effective at removing organic residues from sample handling hardware. The initial switch to high purity water for astromaterial tool cleaning was modeled after efforts at White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) and current semiconductor UPW production practices in the early 1990s. JSC curation’s first system was comprised of ion exchange polishing cylinders, 55 gallon PVDF-lined storage tank, a few tens of feet of PVDF piping, UV and particle filtration, and this system supported cleaning for lunar, meteorite and Cosmic Dust collectors lab operations. By 2000 a major expansion and upgrade was providing UPW of quality E-1 (ASTM D5127-90) or better at 10 gpm for cleaning of the Genesis solar wind payload for flight, in addition to sample handling tools for other astromaterials. This expansion included a 1000 gallon storage tank and several hundred feet of PVDF piping located in B. 31 and 31N. An extra reverse osmosis process unit was added to incoming water in 2005. Subsequently several major components were replaced, and in anticipation of adding new labs, an enlarged UPW system was designed in 2018 and completed in 2019. This system produces grade E1.1 UPW at 15 gpm in a continuous 1100 ft. loop with 5000 gal. storage tank, supplying 8 laboratories.

Ultrapure water↗
NASA NTRS2009

Decontaminating Solar Wind Samples with the Genesis Ultra-Pure Water Megasonic Wafer Spin Cleaner

The Genesis sample return capsule, though broken during the landing impact, contained most of the shattered ultra-pure solar wind collectors comprised of silicon and other semiconductor wafers materials. Post-flight analysis revealed that all wafer fragments were littered with surface particle contamination from spacecraft debris as well as soil from the impact site. This particulate contamination interferes with some analyses of solar wind. In early 2005, the Genesis science team decided to investigate methods for removing the surface particle contamination prior to solar wind analysis.

Calaway, Michael J.↗