MIDAS: Lessons learned from the first spaceborne atomic force microscope

TL;DR

The MIDAS AFM on Rosetta provided unprecedented high-resolution 3D images of cometary dust in space, offering valuable lessons and recommendations for future spaceborne atomic force microscopes based on a year of operational experience.

Contribution

This paper presents the first in-depth lessons learned from a spaceborne AFM, including design insights and recommendations for future missions based on real operational data.

Findings

Successfully captured high-resolution 3D images of cometary dust in space.

Identified key design features and improvements for future spaceborne AFMs.

Provided practical recommendations for instrument enhancements and operational procedures.

Abstract

The Micro-Imaging Dust Analysis System (MIDAS) atomic force microscope (AFM) onboard the Rosetta orbiter was the first such instrument launched into space in 2004. Designed only a few years after the technique was invented, MIDAS is currently orbiting comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko and producing the highest resolution 3D images of cometary dust ever made in situ. After more than a year of continuous operation much experience has been gained with this novel instrument. Coupled with operations of the Flight Spare and advances in terrestrial AFM a set of "lessons learned" has been produced, cumulating in recommendations for future spaceborne atomic force microscopes. The majority of the design could be reused as-is, or with incremental upgrades to include more modern components (e.g. the processor). Key additional recommendations are to incorporate an optical microscope to aid the search for particles and image registration, to include a variety of cantilevers (with different spring constants) and a variety of tip geometries.