From Earth to space and back: GLOSS project samples return from the International Space Station
"The project will now study in Coimbra the effects of the space environment on materials for future gamma-ray telescopes"
After spending around a year aboard the International Space Station (ISS), cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe or CZT) samples from the GLOSS – Gamma-ray Laue Optics and Solid State detectors project have returned to Earth and will now be studied in Coimbra.
The samples were recently received at ESTEC, the European Space Agency's (ESA) technology centre in the Netherlands, by members of LIP's i-Astro – Space Instrumentation for Astrophysics group.
The GLOSS project studies the effects of the low-Earth orbit environment on materials used in components for future space-based gamma-ray telescopes. During their time on the International Space Station, the samples were exposed to real space-environment conditions, including radiation and large temperature variations.
Back on Earth, the CZT-based sensors will now be tested in Coimbra and their performance compared with that of equivalent sensors that remained on Earth. The aim is to assess potential degradation caused by exposure to the space environment and understand how these effects may influence the performance and lifetime of detectors used in future high-energy astrophysics missions.
Coordinated by LIP, GLOSS brings together the University of Coimbra, the University of Beira Interior, the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF), the Istituto dei Materiali per l'Elettronica e il Magnetismo (IMEM-CNR), and the University of Ferrara. In Portugal, the project's activities also involve Active Space Technologies.
LIP is responsible for the management and coordination of the project and the activities carried out by the different partners. It also coordinates the testing of detectors based on the CZT samples, as well as the analysis and dissemination of the scientific results.
Funded through ESA's PRODEX programme and by the Portuguese Space Agency, GLOSS aims to contribute to the development of more robust and efficient instruments for future space missions observing the Universe in gamma rays.