A cutting-edge particle detector mounted on the International Space Station is set to get a “second new life.”
Back in 2011, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) was installed outside the orbital station to detect cosmic ray events.
Cosmic ray particles travel long distances, originating from the sun, exploding stars, and black holes.
Since then, AMS has recorded over 200 billion cosmic ray occurrences, shedding light on the mysteries of the cosmos.
Interestingly, scientists sifting through the massive pool of AMS data discovered a “few signatures” that could be related to something extraordinary: dark matter.
Scientists hope this upcoming upgrade will help them further investigate these mysterious signatures.
New tech will boost the capabilities of particle detector
The AMS consortium is striving to improve the detector with a new layer. This layer will comprise many silicon strips, increasing the particle detection rate by 300%.
“By 2030, AMS will extend the energy range of the positron flux and reduce the error by a factor of two compared with current data,” said Sam Ting (MIT), AMS spokesperson.
The upgrade will also incorporate three new radiative surfaces to keep AMS cool while exposed to harsh direct sunlight.
Originally, the AMS was painted white to reflect high heat. After 13 years in the harsh space environment, the paint has faded. The AMS team is installing additional radiators to keep the detector at working temperatures.
The electronic components of the new update are now under development as “validation” and “qualification” models. These models will undergo rigorous testing at CERN, INFN Perugia, and IABG in Germany, and successful models will proceed to production for the final flight version.
Astronauts are trained using prototype models in Earth-based settings that simulate space conditions. These astronauts will install the new AMS parts during the spacewalks outside the space station in 2026.
The development is happening faster as the ISS is set to retire by the end of this decade. AMS has a limited time to unlock the secrets of the universe.
“Everything is going very, very fast. This is a requirement, otherwise we arrive too late at the ISS for the upgrade to make sense,” said Corrado Gargiulo, chief engineer at CERN.
Detecting mysterious dark matter signatures
The new tech will enable the particle detector to delve further into the enigmatic “positron signatures” that could point to dark matter.
Most of these cosmic rays originate from known events like supernovae and black holes. The cosmic rays that AMS detects from these sources have protons-based signatures.
Furthermore, the AMS discovered certain cosmic rays with heavy nuclei, such as iron or silicon. However, AMS has found certain unusual signs, the origins of which are unknown to experts.
“AMS has detected an unusually high flux of positrons – the antimatter partners of electrons,” mentioned the press release.
Researchers didn’t expect to find these rare cosmic particles in the observed AMS data. Scientists speculate these particles could originate from cosmic lighthouses: pulsars, rapidly rotating dead stars. Another possible source could be dark matter.
“The observed positron flux fits very well with dark matter models,” the AMS team mentioned. The upcoming upgrade would help scientists finally decode the origin of the mysterious positron signature.
