A novel rocket-based in-situ collection technique for mesospheric and stratospheric aerosol particles

Abstract

A technique for collecting aerosol particles between altitudes of 85 and 17 km is described. Collection probes are ejected from a sounding rocket allowing for multi-point measurements. Each probe is equipped with 110 collection samples that are 3 mm in diameter. The collection samples are one of three types: standard transmission electron microscopy carbon grids, glass fibre filter paper or silicone gel. Each collection sample is exposed over a 50 m to 5 km height range with a total of 45 separate ranges. Post-flight electron microscopy gives size-resolved information on particle number, shape and elemental composition. Each collection probe is equipped with a suite of sensors to capture the probe's status during the fall. Parachute recovery systems along with GPS-based localization ensure that each probe can be located and recovered for post-flight analysis