To meet national strategic requirements on high reliable and long life spacecrafts,to support research and development of space products, components and materials, interested in frontier of space science and technology, Space Environment Effects Laboratory (SEELab) focuses on study of space environment effects (SEE) of components and materials, which result from harsh radiation particles, kinds of space plasma, hyper velocity micro debris, erosive atomic oxygen, etc. The significant SEE include Space Radiation Effects, Spacecraft Charging & Discharging, Damage and Erosion from micro debris and atomic oxygen. The main objectives for SEE research are to disclose the interaction mechanism, to develop evaluation methods, as well as to explore new protection techniques. Applying research achievements, SEELab also performs test, evaluation and protection design on SEE mentioned above for customers involved in satellite platform, payloads, components, and materials.
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The space environment effects threatening spacecraft safety and reliability can be cataloged as radiation effects like total ionizing dose effect, displacement damage effect and single event effects, surface and internal or deep charging and discharging, damage and erosion by micro debris and atomic oxygen. Thus the main research fields on SEE in SEELab are established as followings.1. Space Radiation EffectsStudy distribution characters and evolution rules of high energy particles encountered by man-made spacecraft, which including earth radiation belts, solar cosmic rays, galaxy cosmic rays, local high energy particles around planets in deep space, and high altitude atmosphere neutrons etc. Apply and develop the engineering models of these space radiation environments.Investigate effects of space radiation particles on components, materials, astronauts, like total ionizing dose effects, single event effects, displacement damage, solar cell radiation damage, biology radiation effects. 2. Spacecraft Charging & DischargingStudy charging correlated environments and the models, such as injected energetic particles from geomagnetic substorm, precipitated particles during auroral event, low energy and high density ionosphere plasma in LEO region, enhanced high energy electrons in out radiation belt, as well as charging environments around certain planets in deep space. Investigate effects as result of charge transfer and exchange between space environments and space-born materials. In detail, the effects include surface charging on exposed spacecraft materials, dielectric or spacecraft internal charging by high energy electrons, current leakage and arc discharging of high voltage solar cell arrays in dense plasma. Furthermore, discharge induced ESD and its effects on component and circuit, protection guideline and technique on charging & discharging also investigated. 3. Damage and Erosion of Exposed MaterialsStudy environments exposed onto outer materials of spacecraft and their engineering models, which comprise micro debris, atomic oxygen in LEO, solar UV radiation, and low energy electron and proton. Investigate effects of mechanical damage, chemical erosion, performance degradation of the materials, and the consequent influence on thermal control system, solar cell arrays, and optical sensors onboard spacecraft.
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