Low Temperature research on the International Space Station

Abstract

The Low Temperature Microgravity Physics Facility (LTMPF) is a state of the art facility for conducting fundamental research in a microgravity environment at low temperatures. LTMPF is a self-contained, reusable, cryogenic facility that will be attached to the Exposed Facility of the Japanese Experiment Module, named Kibo, on the International Space Station (ISS). The first launch of LTMPF is scheduled in June, 2004 and will carry one or more low temperature experiments. Currently, there are six candidate experiments competing for several flight opportunities from the fields of Low Temperature and Condensed Matter Physics, and Gravitational and Relativistic Physics. Science community input has been solicited in the design and development of LTMPF. In order to create a facility that is useful to current and future experimenters, requirements generated by the current flight definition experiments were taken into consideration early in the design phase of LTMPF. In addition, inputs from previous, existing and potential future science investigators, as well as industrial partners, were sought in order to design a facility that is modular, adaptable and upgradeable to meet the long-term needs of the science community.