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Dust in the Upper Stratosphere Tracking Experiment and Retrieval (DUSTER) is a ballon-borne instrument that aims to collect uncontaminated solid aerosol particles from the Earth's upper stratosphere (30–40 km). The main goal of DUSTER is the collection of extraterrestrial dust.
Figure 1 - (a,b) DUSTER sketch by Della Corte et al. 2014. (c) DUSTER 3D model. (d) Picture of DUSTER2021 during the launch campaign in Kiruna (Sweden) in 2021.
At altitudes >30 km the supply of terrestrial dust is limited. For this reason, the upper stratosphere is considered to be mainly populated by extraterrestrial dust and so an important reservoir for Interplanetary Dust Particles (IDPs) (Brownlee 1985).
Extraterrestrial materials continuously cross the Earth's atmosphere. The biggest particles survive their passage through the atmosphere (micro- and meteorites), while others (the smallest fraction) remain trapped in the atmosphere for a certain amount of time.
Collecting extraterrestrial dust with DUSTER allows us to have barely unaltered (since not subjected to terrestrial alteration processes) and uncontamineted (thanks to the DUSTER's collection system) samples of primitive bodies of the Solar System - a priceless reservoir for our labs.
Compared to other collection programs, DUSTER has brought innovations on the collection system with the purpose to preserve as unmodified as possible the particles collected. Key factors are:
1. A low-velocity collection method (that guarantees no fragmentation of the particles collected);
2. A strict contamination control protocol, to minimize contamination with terrestrial dust.
Video 1 - DUSTER2008 takes off from the Longyearbyen Airport on Spitsbergen Island, Svalbard (Norway). Landing site at Thule (Greenland).
Table 1 - Summary of all the DUSTER collection campaigns. Blue rows: campaigns that brought to the collection of uncontaminated stratospheric particles. Gray row: to be determined. White: collections with problems due to flight issues.
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Altitudes >30 km are only accessible through the use of stratospheric balloons. In stratospheric balloons, DUSTER can be mounted as a piggyback with other instruments (e.g. Kiruna 2021) or as a standalone gondola (e.g. Antarctica 2017).
Since DUSTER is only interested in the collection of the particles above 30 km, it is needed to avoid the collection/contamination from dust particles that can reach the collector surface before the flight, during the flight but below 30 km, and after the flight. To do so, we follow a strict contamination control protocol (the procedures are described in Figure 2).
Figure 2 - Contamination control protocol adopted by DUSTER, with operations occurring before, during, and after the flight.
The collector is where the stratospheric particles are going to be deposited during the collection. It is located inside the collecting chamber, which remains closed by ultra-high vacuum valves until the balloon reaches 30 km, and by a flange (that closes the inlet pipe) until 20 km of altitude. The collector is a stainless steel sample holder (around 2 cm in diameter) with 13 TEM grids (generally used for Transmission Electron Microscopy).
Once the balloon has reached 30 km of altitude, the stratospheric air flux enters the inlet pipe and moves toward the collecting chamber. Here the particles are deposited on the collector surface due to inertial separation. The particles with sizes >0.1 µm are separated from the air flux due to their inertia. The air flux (together with all the particles smaller than 0.1 µm) flows around the collector and is expelled from the instrument.
This collection method is at low velocity (<10 m/s): this way the particles are not fragmented during the collection. And at the same time, there's no need to use sticking materials (e.g. silicon oil): this implies that we don't need to treat/wash the particles after the collection.
Figure 3 - DUSTER's collector with 13 TEM grids (made of copper or gold). The collection is possible thanks to inertial separation: the particles are separated from the air flux due to their impact on the collector surface (Della Corte et al. 2012).
Together with the collector, there's another similar but very different part: the blank. The blank is identical to the collector but not exposed to the air flux. It is a control surface that helps to identify potential forms of contamination (unwanted dust, problems occurring during the launch, etc.).
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Once the collection campaign is over, three steps follow:
(1) the identification of the new particles, comparing high-resolution scans of collector and blank acquired just before and immediately after the flight,
(2) the high-resolution imaging of the particles collected;
(3) the chemical characterization of the particles collected.
The blank is fundamental for the identification of the particles collected in the upper stratosphere. Indeed, particles that are morphologically and chemically similar found on both collector and blank will be excluded from our final count. This procedure allows us to identify and exclude the particles deposited on the collector surfaces in other moments and not during the collection at >30 km of altitude.
The imaging and characterization steps are carried at the Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) with Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). Since collector and blank sample holders are suitable to be mounted inside the FESEM, there's no need to move the particles after their collection.
Figure 4 - DUSTER's particles characterization at the Field emission scanning electron microscope FEI Quanta 450 FEG at the Center for Instrument Sharing of the University of Pisa (CISUP).
In conclusion, with DUSTER is possible to:
1. Collect the particles at high altitudes ⇒ they will be mainly extraterrestrial;
2. Use a low velocity collection method ⇒ no fragmentation of the particles;
3. Exclude from the count particles collected from contamination sources (thanks to the collection method and the blank), and not to use sticking materials ⇒ no treatment of the particles ⇒ no contamination;
4. Avoid moving the particles after the collection (the collector sample holder is suitable to be mounted directly inside the FESEM) ⇒ no manipulation.
Video 3 - Presentation of the DUSTER project at the Astrobiology event organised by the University of Naples "Parthenope".
[1] Palumbo, P., Della Corte, V., Rotundi, A., Ciucci, A., et al. (2008). DUSTER. Aerosol collection in the stratosphere. Memorie della Società Astronomica Italiana Vol. 79, p. 853.
[2] Palumbo, P., Della Corte, V., Ciucci, A., De Angelis, S., Brunetto, R., Rotundi, A., Rietmeijer, F.J.M., et al. (2010). Duster - in the Upper Stratosphere Tracking Experiment and Return: a Balloon Flight in Arctic Region. 38th COSPAR Scientific Assembly Abstract, Bremen (Germany), PSB1-0013-10.
[3] Ciucci, A., Rietmeijer, F.J.M., Della Corte, V., Brunetto, De Angelis, S., R., Palumbo, P., Rotundi, A. (2010). Collecting Dust in the Upper Stratosphere at high latitudes:
Constraints on the Compositions of Cosmic Dust Particles. European Planetary Science Congress 2010, Roma (Italy), Vol. 5, EPSC2010-175.
[4] Ciucci, A. (2010). Stratospheric dust collection by DUSTER (Dust in The Upper Stratosphere Tracking Experiment and Retrieval), a balloon-borne instrument, and laboratory analyses of collected dust. PhD Thesis, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II.
[5] Ciucci, A., Rietmeijer, F.J.M., Della Corte, V., Brunetto, De Angelis, S., R., Palumbo, P., Rotundi, A. (2010). Collecting Dust in the Upper Stratosphere at high latitudes:
Constraints on the Compositions of Cosmic Dust Particles. European Planetary Science Congress 2010, Roma (Italy), Vol. 5, EPSC2010-175.
[6] Della Corte, V., Palumbo, P., De Angelis, S., Ciucci, A., Brunetto, R., Rotundi, A., et al. (2011). DUSTER (Dust in the Upper Stratosphere Tracking Experiment and Return): a balloon-borne dust particle collector. Mem. S.A.It. Suppl. Vol. 16, p. 14.
[7] De Angelis, S., Della Corte, V., Baratta, G.A., Rietmeijer, F.J.M., Brunetto, R., Palumbo, P., Ciucci, A., Rotundi, A. (2011). Raman Microspectroscopy Performed on Extraterrestrial Particles. Spectroscopy Letters, Vol. 44, pp. 549-553.
[8] De Angelis, S. (2011). Characterization of the DUSTER instrument for stratospheric dust collection and Raman analysis of stratospheric samples. PhD Thesis, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II.
[9] Della Corte, V., Palumbo, P., Rotundi, A. et al. (2012). In Situ Collection of Refractory Dust in the Upper Stratosphere: The DUSTER Facility. Space Sci Rev. Vol. 169, pp. 159–180.
[10] Marcelli, A., Zhang, K., Wu, Z., Della Corte, V., Rotundi, A. et al. (2012). X-Ray CT Scan of Stratospheric Micron-sized Dust Particles: An Attempt to a Non-destructive Morphological Reconstruction ISSRNS 2012 Abstract, Vol. 11, No 1-2.
[11] Della Corte, V., Rietmeijer, F.J.M., Rotundi, A., Ferrari, M., Palumbo, P. (2013). Meteoric CaO and carbon smoke particles collected in the upper stratosphere from an unanticipated source. Tellus B: Chemical and Physical Meteorology, Vol. 65, Issue 1, 20174.
[12] Della Corte, V., Rietmeijer, F.J.M., Rotundi, A., Ferrari, M., Palumbo, P. (2013). DUSTER (Dust from Upper Stratosphere tracking experiment and Retrieval) dust collection 2011. European Planetary Science Congress Abstract, London (UK), EPSC2013-897.
[13] Rietmeijer, F.J.M., Della Corte, V., Rotundi, A., Ferrari, M. (2013). Sampling the constant drizzle of meteoric dust in the upper stratosphere. Meteoroids 2013 Proceedings of the Astronomical Conference, Poznan (Poland), pp. 147–153.
[14] Della Corte, V., Rietmeijer, F.J.M., Rotundi, A., Ferrari, M. (2014). Introducing a New Stratospheric Dust-Collecting System with Potential Use for Upper Atmospheric Microbiology Investigations. Astrobiology, Vol. 14, Issue 8, pp. 694-705.
[15] Rietmeijer, F.J.M., Della Corte, V., Rotundi, A., Ferrari, M., Palumbo, P. (2014). DUSTER: collection of meteoric CaO and carbon smoke particles in the upper stratosphere. European Planetary Science Congress Abstract, Cascais (Portugal), EPSC2014-859.
[16] Rietmeijer, F.J.M., Della Corte, V., Ferrari, M., Rotundi, A., Brunetto, R. (2016). Laboratory analyses of meteoric debris in the upper stratosphere from settling bolide dust clouds. Icarus, Vol. 266, pp. 217-234.
[17] Rietmeijer, F.J.M., Ferrari, Della Corte, V., M., Rotundi, A., Palumbo, P., De Angelis, S., Galluzzi, V. (2017). A fiery birth of aluminosilica analogs of refractory dust in the upper stratosphere. Advances in Space Research, Vol. 60, Issue 9, pp. 2091-2098.
[18] Liuzzi, V., Della Corte, V., Rotundi, A., Ivanovski, S.L., Dionnet, Z., Brunetto, R., Inno, L. (2020). Zero-pressure balloons trajectory prediction: Duster flight simulations. Advances in Space Research. Vol. 66, Issue 8, pp. 1876-1886.
[19] Rotundi, A., Fulle, M., Della Corte, V. (2021). Dust From the Solar System and Beyond. In "Encyclopedia of GEOLOGY", II ed., Elsevier Ltd., pp. 185-193.
[20] Della Corte, V., Rotundi, A. (2021). Collection of samples. In "Sample Return Missions. The Last Frontier of Solar System Exploration", Elsevier Ltd., pp. 271-296.
[21] Polimeno, P., Magazzù, A., Iatì, M.A., Saija, R., Folco, L., et al. (2021). Optical tweezers in a dusty universe. The European Physical Journal Plus, Vol. 136, p. 339.
[22] Musolino, A., Della Corte V., Rotundi A., Dionnet Z., Folco, L., Liuzzi V., Ferretti, S. (2022). Dust in the Upper Stratosphere Tracking Experiment and Retrieval: Exploring the Dust Reservoir of the Upper Stratosphere through Balloons. EGU General Assembly 2022 Abstract, Vienna (Austria), Vol. 66, Issue 8, EGU22-12838.
• "TECHNOLOGICAL FLIGHT + DUSTER
Developed by Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES) / Università di Napoli Parthenope
Balloon launched on 1/9/2006, from European Space Range, Kiruna, Sweden" - Stratocat.
• "DUSTER (DUST IN THE UPPER STRATOSPHERE TRACKING EXPERIMENT AND RETURN)
Developed by University of Naples (Parthenope), Italy
Balloon launched on 6/21/2008, from Longyearbyen Airport, Svalbard, Norway" - Stratocat.
• "Scienza in mongolfiera, l’Italia riparte dal Polo Nord" - Media INAF.
• LANCIATI TRE PAYLOAD ITALIANI NELL’AMBITO DEL PROGETTO HEMERA. - ASI.