DUSTER (Dust in the Upper Stratosphere Tracking Experiment and Return):. a balloon-borne dust particle collector
Corte, V Della ; Palumbo, P ; V. Della Corte, P. Palumbo, S. De Angelis, , A. Ciucci, R. Brunetto, A. Rotundi ; et al. ; - Ibba, R
Jan - 2011

journal : Memorie della Societa Astronomica Italiana, Supplement

Volume : 16 ; Issue : 14
type: Article Journal

Abstract
The DUSTER (Dust in the Upper Stratosphere Tracking Experiment and Retrieval) project is aimed at uncontaminated collection and retrieval of stratospheric solid aerosol particles, in the submicron/micron range, from the upper stratosphere. The approach implies: (1) in-situ particles collection; (2) sample recovering; and (3) laboratory analyses. The scientific aim is deriving the dust size distribution, the concentration, chemistry and mineralogy of the collected stratospheric aerosols. The main characteristics of the instru- ment are: (1) Capability of working autonomously during balloon flight at 30 − 40 km altitude, temperatures down to −80◦C; (2) sampling at least 20 m3 of air to collect several hundreds of aerosol particles); (3) Samples storage and retrieval under controlled condi- tions. A detailed description of the experiment is reported here

keywords : Interplanetary dust – Stratospheric aerosol collection - balloon-born