MISSE-12 is an external craft within the MISSE series aimed at testing various materials in the harsh environment of space. The crafts include ram, wake, zenith, and nadir exposures. (These are coordinate axes in the spacecraft-centered coordinate system.)
Craft Overview:
MISSE-12 was sent to the International Space Station (ISS) carrying MISSE sample carriers (MSC’s). These are what house the different material samples which are to be tested in the vacuum of space. The MSC’s were deployed onto the ISS in either December 2019 or March 2020.
Results of the Mission:
The mission was a success. The MSC’s were returned to Earth aboard the SpaceX-21 mission on January 13, 2021.
Deployment:
MISSE-12 was taken to the ISS aboard Cygnus NG-12 on November 2, 2019. The MISSE-12 craft was fastened onto the outside of the ISS between December 2019 and March 2020. It was installed in the area known as the MISSE Flight Facility (MISSE-FF) near the ISS’s solar panels.
Sources and Additional Information:
- https://www1.grc.nasa.gov/space/iss-research/misse/#introduction
- https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/features/misse-11.html
- https://spaceflight101.com/dragon-spx14/misse-ff/
| Acronym | MISSE-12 |
| Full Name | Materials International Space Station Experiment – 12 |
| Size | 12U |
| Status | Inactive |
| Launch Date | November 11, 2019 |
| Principal Investigator | Jud Ready |