Goodfellow materials unlock secrets of Saturn

Citation

(2005), "Goodfellow materials unlock secrets of Saturn", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 77 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2005.12777ead.001

Goodfellow materials unlock secrets of Saturn

Keywords: Metals, Spacecraft

Goodfellow Cambridge Ltd provided specialist high-purity metals which have been used to help scientists characterise the atmosphere and environment encountered during the joint NASA/ESA (European Space Agency) spacecraft mission to the outer solar system.

Goodfellow specialises in supplying high-purity metals and materials to research establishments and industry. The company supplied platinum wire, gold and other high-purity metals to design engineers when they were developing scientific instruments and sensors for the spacecraft. These have been used to capture data during the seven year expedition to Saturn and Titan, the planet's largest moon.

The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft was made up of the Cassini orbiter, which was developed by NASA, and the Huygens probe developed by the ESA. The spacecraft is now in orbit around Saturn and has transmitted back to Earth extensive data about the planet, its moons, rings and magnetic environment.

The Huygens probe was despatched from the spacecraft and landed on Titan earlier this year. Sensors and instruments on-board the 9 foot diameter probe transmitted information back to earth about the surface composition of the moon and the atmosphere encountered during the probe's descent.

One of the scientific components used within the SSP (Surface Science Pack), which collects data from the surface of the moon, is a thermal properties sensor (THP sensor). This measures thermal conductivity and thermal diffusion and contains two pairs of high purity platinum wires which were supplied by Goodfellow.

The two pairs of wires, one of 10 μm diameter and the other of 25 μm diameter, are housed in cylindrical cells. One pair is used for atmospheric measurement and the other for liquid measurement.

The SSP has transmitted exciting data back to the ESA. The surface temperature of the moon is sub-170°C and evidence has been found of liquid flow, which appears to be as a result of methane rainfall.