Embedded Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors for Monitoring Temperature and Thermo-Elastic Deformations in a Carbon Fiber Optical Bench.

A composite optical bench made up of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) skin and aluminum honeycomb has been developed for the Tunable Magnetograph instrument (TuMag) for the SUNRISE III mission within the NASA Long Duration Balloon Program. This optical bench has been designed to meet lightweight and low sensitivity to thermal gradient requirements, resulting in a low Coefficient of Thermal Expansion (CTE). In addition to the flight model, a breadboard model identical to the flight one has been manufactured, including embedded fiber Bragg temperature and strain sensors.

Radiation and Dust Sensor for Mars Environmental Dynamic Analyzer Onboard M2020 Rover.

The Radiation and Dust Sensor is one of six sensors of the Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer onboard the Perseverance rover from the Mars 2020 NASA mission. Its primary goal is to characterize the airbone dust in the Mars atmosphere, inferring its concentration, shape and optical properties. Thanks to its geometry, the sensor will be capable of studying dust-lifting processes with a high temporal resolution and high spatial coverage.

Effect of Low-Doses of Gamma Radiation on Electric Arc-Induced Long Period Fiber Gratings.

This work presents an experimental study on the effects of gamma radiation on Long Period Fiber Gratings (LPFGs) in a low-dose test campaign to evaluate their eventual degradation. The study was carried out with standard single-mode fibers where the grating was inscribed using the Electric-Arc Discharge (EAD) technique. Before the gamma campaign, a detailed optical characterization was performed with repeatability tests to verify the accuracy of the setup and the associated error sources.

The Complex Molecules Detector (CMOLD): A Fluidic-Based Instrument Suite to Search for (Bio)chemical Complexity on Mars and Icy Moons.

Organic chemistry is ubiquitous in the Solar System, and both Mars and a number of icy satellites of the outer Solar System show substantial promise for having hosted or hosting life. Here, we propose a novel astrobiologically focused instrument suite that could be included as scientific payload in future missions to Mars or the icy moons: the Complex Molecules Detector, or CMOLD. CMOLD is devoted to determining different levels of prebiotic/biotic chemical and structural targets following a chemically general approach (, valid for both terrestrial and nonterrestrial life), as well as their compatibility with terrestrial life.