Simulation of high speed capture of interstellar grains

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The overall goal of this project is to complete the collaboration within the Stardust Interstellar Preliminary Examination team (ISPE) in translating impact features into the particles original physical and chemical properties, and to use the currently available calibration material and experiments with impact ionisation mass spectrometers to open a new window to chemical analyses of interstellar dust grains as measured by the Cosmic Dust Analyser (CDA) in the saturnian system. This proposal contains four major tasks: ) Preparation and characterization of cosmic dust analogue samples for use in a Van-de-Graaff accelerator, b) Hyper-velocity impacts onto Stardust foil analogues and impact ionization target plates, c) Studies of impact crater morphologies, impact residues with simultaneous mass spectral analyses, and d) Data analyses with the Large Area Mass Analyser (LAMA) and with the CDA flight instrument.Impact phenomena will be examined at velocities above 7 km/s, producing an overlap between the velocities found for the Stardust interstellar dust collection campaigns and the higher velocities (>19 km/s) predicted for impacts onto CDA within the saturnian system. The ISPE work will be performed in cooperation with other SPP groups that are members of the ISPE collaboration (F. Brenker, Frankfurt, P. Hoppe, J. Leitner, MPI-C Mainz). The project is in the third phase and has a duration of two years.