How Will MEEP Study International Space Station Materials?
The Passive Optical Sample Assembly (POSA) I and II experiments, from the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and the Boeing Defense and Space Group in Seattle, Wash. respectively, consist of various materials that are intended for use on the international Space Station. These materials include paint samples, glass coatings, multi-layer insulation and a variety of metallic samples. How Will the MEEP Data be Used? The debris which is brought back to Earth, after approximately a year and a half of being on orbit, will be analyzed using several techniques. These techniques include a scanning electron microscope and spectroscopy to determine what the debris are made of and their relative sizes. The data will be studied to determine what kind of debris hit the space station and how those contaminants can actually collect on some of the different surfaces of a space station, affecting its surfaces and long-term performance. After the data from all four MEEP experiments is analyzed, the data wi
