COLIS: an advanced light scattering apparatus for investigating the structure and dynamics of soft matter onboard the International Space Station

TL;DR

COLIS is a sophisticated light scattering instrument designed for the ISS, enabling detailed analysis of soft matter's structure and dynamics across various length and time scales, with multiple advanced measurement techniques.

Contribution

This paper introduces COLIS, a comprehensive light scattering platform with novel capabilities for space-based soft matter research, including optical manipulation and diverse scattering methods.

Findings

Successful ground testing on standard suspensions

Demonstrated capabilities with protein and colloidal systems

Validated potential for future ISS experiments

Abstract

Colloidal Solids (COLIS) is a state-of-the-art light scattering setup developed for experiments onboard the International Space Station (ISS). COLIS allows for probing the structure and dynamics of soft matter systems on a wide range of length scales, from a few nm to tens of microns, and on time scales from 100 ns to tens of hours. In addition to conventional static and dynamic light scattering, COLIS includes depolarized dynamic light scattering, a small-angle camera, photon correlation imaging, and optical manipulation of thermosensitive samples through an auxiliary near-infrared laser beam, thereby providing a unique platform for probing soft matter systems. We demonstrate COLIS through ground tests on standard Brownian suspensions, and on protein, colloidal glasses, and gel systems similar to those to be used in future ISS experiments.