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Description
Sample - Stratospheric Altitude Microbiology Probe For Life Existence - A Balloon Borne Payload System To For Cosmic Dust Collection In The Stratosphere
Authors:
1. Rashi Srivastava, Central University of Karnataka
2. Dr. Margarita Safonova, Indian Institute of Astrophysics
3. Dr. Binukumar G. Nair, Indian Institute of Astrophysics
4. Bharat Chandra P, Indian Institute of Astrophysics
5. Ghatul Shubham Jankiram, Indian Institute of Astrophysics
6. Dr. Rekhesh Mohan, Indian Institute of Astrophysics
7. Dr. Jayant Murthy, Indian Institute of Astrophysics
Although the existence of microorganisms in the troposphere is well recognised and well-catalogued, very little is actually understood about the biosphere's ultimate upper limit. The stratosphere provides an ideal setting to investigate whether life can exist or survive in these circumstances. In order to explore and examine this, a balloon-borne payload system; SAMPLE (Stratospheric Altitude Microbiology Probe for Life Existence) has been designed, which embodies a dust collection chamber on the payload along with various other subsystems. An engineering prototype for high-altitude dust collection is built and tested, and a microcontroller board with the necessary sensors (GPS, barometer, etc.) is designed and programmed (in C language) to open and close the collector tray at an appropriate height. The payload is made up of pre-sterilized sampling chambers that are intended to collect and hold dust samples during the flight and deliver them back to the surface without contamination, as well as a controller that chooses the payload system's altitude and actively monitors the opening and closing of the sampling chambers. The motor arrangement drives a lead screw, which causes the collection tray to swivel in and out. A bidirectional movable latch and lock system limits mobility.
The main electronic components are the GSM module, pressure sensor, and SD Card module. For our sample collector, the embedded device platform Arduino Uno serves as the primary controller, where the C language is used to write the implementation code. The collector measures altitude using a GPS module and a BMP180 pressure sensor that are both connected to the Arduino board. Using an L293D motor controller IC, the Arduino manages the DC motor that opens and closes the tray. A 7V Li-ion battery powers the entire system. First, the Airport Authority of India has limited the total payload weight of the payloads to 6 kg. Second, all equipment needs to be resistant to temperature changes because the stratosphere can reach temperatures as low as 80°C. To ensure that the electronic components work properly, they were insulated for survival at that temperature. The opening and closing of the tray attached to the collector was tested in a chamber at an ambient temperature of -80℃. Since it was noted that the collected CPAs (chondritic porous aggregates) at altitudes of 17–20 km contained a significant amount of contaminants from volcanic eruptions, we intend to configure the dust collector chamber to open the trays above 25 km. As a result, as soon as the payload passes that altitude during the descent, the trays would retract. The dust collection and accurate identification of the material is the primary objective of the SAMPLE mission in which the study techniques are split into physical and biological categories.
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