Behind the scene of the CERNTweetup

Maurice Bourquin, professor at the University of Geneva and founding father of AMS-02, talks with tweeps at the CERNTweetup in the AMS control room (POCC).

(credit: Simon Bierwald / @simsullen) 

AMS - 1 year in space anniversary at CERN

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) is a state-of-the-art particle physics detector designed to operate as an external module on the International Space Station. It uses the unique environment of space to study the universe and its origin by searching for antimatter, dark matter while performing precision measurements of cosmic rays composition and flux. 

The STS-134 was responsible for installing AMS-02 on the International Space Station (ISS), on the upper Payload Attach Point (S3) on the main truss of the ISS. 

Orbiting the Earth on the ISS at an altitude of about 300 km, AMS-02 will collect hundreds of millions of primary cosmic rays. The core of the AMS-02 spectrometer is a large magnet to measure the sign of the charge of each particle traversing the instrument: the experiment will collect data continuously for years, producing a data stream of 7 Gigabits per seconds, which, after online processing, is reduced to a 2 Mbs average of downlink bandwidth.

From left to right, top to bottom:

• AMS logo
• AMS control room at CERN (POCC) - outside
• AMS control room at CERN (POCC) - inside
• AMS monitoring system
• Group picture of the STS-134 crew:
  • Dr. Andrew J. Feustel, Mission Specialist (NASA),
  • Dr. Gregory Errol Chamitoff, Mission Specialist (NASA),
  • Colonel Gregory H. Johnson (USAF, Ret.), Pilot (NASA),  
  • Colonel E.M. Mike Fincke (USAF), Mission Specialist (NASA), 
  • Captain Mark E. Kelly (USN), Commander (NASA)
• Commander Mark Kelly
• Prof. Dr. Roberto Battiston, deputy spokeperson of AMS-02, describes the monitoring system of AMS-02 to Pilot Greg Johnson of the STS-134 mission.
• Mickael Fincke, mission specialist
• Group picture in front of the AMS control room at CERN (POCC), from left to right:
  • Dr. Gregory Errol Chamitoff, Mission Specialist (NASA),
  • Dr. Andrew J. Feustel, Mission Specialist (NASA), 
  • Prof. Dr. Samuel C. C. Ting, particle physicist, spokeperson of AMS-02, 
  • Captain Mark E. Kelly (USN), Commander (NASA)
  • Colonel E.M. Mike Fincke (USAF), Mission Specialist (NASA), 
  • Colonel Gregory H. Johnson (USAF, Ret.), Pilot (NASA), 
  • and Prof. Dr. Rolf Heuer, CERN Director-General
• Mission STS-134 logo

more pictures on the ESA flickr
(credit for all pictures: HAP / A.Chantelauze) 

Public conference in Geneva with the 6 astronauts of the final flight of Endeavour dedicated to the installation of AMS, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer: