Electro-Kinetic Ice Gun for Frozen Ice Plume Simulations

This proposal evolved as a result of a conversation with a NASA scientist regarding plans for a mission to one of several icy moons in the solar system to seek signs of life based on observed water plume emissions. In preparation for such a mission, spacecraft will have to pass through clouds of ice particulates, which will pose challanges in organic species collection, and possible damage to instruments. Accordingly, there is a need for simulating the production of hyper velocity ice in the size range of 50nm through 2 microns. The NASA Ames Vertical Gun Range was designed to propell solid projectiles for studying the effects of meteorite impacts on celestial bodies and potential micro-meteoroid damage to spacecraft. “At the far end of the barrel, a gunpowder explosion is used to compress hydrogen gas to as much as 1 million times atmospheric pressure, firing a projectile pellet at speeds between 7,000 and 15,000 mph”. This approach is not suitable for ice particles, so we have developed a novel ice gun using electrosprays that can achieve a hyper velocity net result without damage to the sample grain.