Euclid preparation

XXIX. Water ice in spacecraft Part I: The physics of ice formation and contamination

¹ Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
e-mail: schirmer@mpia.de
² Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, California 94550, USA
³ European Space Agency/ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noord-wijk, The Netherlands
⁴ Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UK
⁵ Aurora Technology B.V., Zwarteweg 39, 2201 AA Noordwijk, The Netherlands
⁶ Airbus Defence & Space SAS, Toulouse, France
⁷ ESAC/ESA, Camino Bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urb. Villafranca del Castillo, 28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
⁸ Aurora Technology for European Space Agency (ESA), Camino bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692 Madrid, Spain
⁹ Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Mönchhofstr. 12-14, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
¹⁰ SYRTE, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, LNE, 61 avenue de l’Observatoire 75014 Paris, France
¹¹ INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, Via Osservatorio 20, 10025 Pino Torinese (TO), Italy
¹² Institut de Ciències del Cosmos (ICCUB), Universitat de Barcelona (IEEC-UB), Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
¹³ Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Carrer Gran Capitá 2-4, 08034 Barcelona, Spain
¹⁴ Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Giessenbachstr. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
¹⁵ University Observatory, Faculty of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität, Scheinerstr. 1, 81679 Munich, Germany
¹⁶ Departament de Física Quàntica i Astrofísica (FQA), Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
¹⁷ Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut d’astrophysique spatiale, 91405 Orsay, France
¹⁸ Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3FX, UK
¹⁹ Institut für Theoretische Physik, University of Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 16, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
²⁰ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Augusto Righi” - Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, via Piero Gobetti 93/2, 40129 Bologna, Italy
²¹ INAF – Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, Via Piero Gobetti 93/3, 40129 Bologna, Italy
²² INFN – Sezione di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy
²³ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova, Italy
²⁴ INFN – Sezione di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova, Italy
²⁵ Department of Physics “E. Pancini”, University Federico II, Via Cinthia 6, 80126 Napoli, Italy
²⁶ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Via Moiariello 16, 80131 Napoli, Italy
²⁷ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Universidade do Porto, CAUP, Rua das Estrelas, PT4150-762 Porto, Portugal
²⁸ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
²⁹ INFN – Sezione di Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
³⁰ INAF – IASF Milano, Via Alfonso Corti 12, 20133 Milano, Italy
³¹ Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
³² Port d’Informació Científica, Campus UAB, C. Albareda s/n, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
³³ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati 33, 00078 Monteporzio Catone, Italy
³⁴ INFN section of Naples, Via Cinthia 6, 80126 Napoli, Italy
³⁵ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Augusto Righi” – Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy
³⁶ Centre National d’Études Spatiales – Centre spatial de Toulouse, 18 avenue Édouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
³⁷ Institut national de physique nucléaire et de physique des particules, 3 rue Michel-Ange, 75794 Paris Cedex 16, France
³⁸ Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
³⁹ Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
⁴⁰ European Space Agency/ESRIN, Largo Galileo Galilei 1, 00044 Frascati, Roma, Italy
⁴¹ University of Lyon, Univ Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IP2I Lyon, UMR 5822, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
⁴² Institute of Physics, Laboratory of Astrophysics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Observatoire de Sauverny, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
⁴³ Departamento de Física, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Edifício C8, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
⁴⁴ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
⁴⁵ Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva, ch. d’Ecogia 16, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
⁴⁶ INAF – Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, via del Fosso del Cavaliere, 100, 00100 Roma, Italy
⁴⁷ INFN – Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
⁴⁸ Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Cité, CEA, CNRS, Astrophysique, Instrumentation et Modélisation Paris-Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
⁴⁹ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via G. B. Tiepolo 11, 34143 Trieste, Italy
⁵⁰ Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS/IN2P3, CPPM, Marseille, France
⁵¹ Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, PO Box 1029 Blindern, 0315 Oslo, Norway
⁵² Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Niels Bohrweg 2, 2333 CA Leiden, The Netherlands
⁵³ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
⁵⁴ von Hoerner & Sulger GmbH, SchloßPlatz 8, 68723 Schwetzingen, Germany
⁵⁵ Technical University of Denmark, Elektrovej 327, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
⁵⁶ Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), 2200 København, Denmark
⁵⁷ Université de Genève, Département de Physique Théorique and Centre for Astroparticle Physics, 24 quai Ernest-Ansermet, 1211 Genève 4, Switzerland
⁵⁸ Department of Physics, PO Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
⁵⁹ Helsinki Institute of Physics, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
⁶⁰ NOVA optical infrared instrumentation group at ASTRON, Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991 PD Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
⁶¹ Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, Universität Bonn, Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121 Bonn, Germany
⁶² Department of Physics, Institute for Computational Cosmology, Durham University, South Road, DH1 3LE UK
⁶³ Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Astroparticule et Cosmologie, 75013 Paris, France
⁶⁴ Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, 98bis Boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
⁶⁵ Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, UMR 7095, CNRS, and Sorbonne Université, 98 bis boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
⁶⁶ CEA Saclay, DFR/IRFU, Service d’Astrophysique, Bât. 709, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
⁶⁷ Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, PO Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
⁶⁸ Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Cité, CEA, CNRS, AIM, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
⁶⁹ Space Science Data Center, Italian Space Agency, via del Politecnico snc, 00133 Roma, Italy
⁷⁰ Institute of Space Science, Str. Atomistilor 409, Măgurele 077125, Romania
⁷¹ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “G. Galilei”, Università di Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
⁷² Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna, Via Gobetti 93/2, 40129 Bologna, Italy
⁷³ Universitäts-Sternwarte München, Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Scheinerstrasse 1, 81679 München, Germany
⁷⁴ Departamento de Física, FCFM, Universidad de Chile, Blanco Encalada 2008 Santiago, Chile
⁷⁵ Institut de Ciencies de l’Espai (IEEC-CSIC), Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans, s/n Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
⁷⁶ Centre for Electronic Imaging, Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
⁷⁷ Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Avenida Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
⁷⁸ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-018 Lisboa, Portugal
⁷⁹ Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Departamento de Electrónica y Tecnología de Computadoras, Plaza del Hospital 1, 30202 Cartagena, Spain
⁸⁰ Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, CNES, 14 Av. Èdouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
⁸¹ INFN – Bologna, Via Irnerio 46, 40126 Bologna, Italy
⁸² Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
⁸³ IFPU, Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe, via Beirut 2, 34151 Trieste, Italy
⁸⁴ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Brera 28, 20122 Milano, Italy
⁸⁵ Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Calle Vía Láctea s/n, 38204 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
⁸⁶ Department of Physics and Helsinki Institute of Physics, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
⁸⁷ Dipartimento di Fisica “Aldo Pontremoli”, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy
⁸⁸ INFN – Sezione di Milano, Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy
⁸⁹ Junia, EPA department, 41 Bd Vauban, 59800 Lille, France
⁹⁰ Instituto de Física Teórica UAM-CSIC, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
⁹¹ CERCA/ISO, Department of Physics, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
⁹² Laboratoire de Physique de l’École Normale Supérieure, ENS, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, 75005 Paris, France
⁹³ Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, Sorbonne Université, LERMA, 750 Paris, France
⁹⁴ Astrophysics Group, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
⁹⁵ SISSA, International School for Advanced Studies, Via Bonomea 265, 34136 Trieste TS, Italy
⁹⁶ INFN, Sezione di Trieste, Via Valerio 2, 34127 Trieste TS, Italy
⁹⁷ Dipartimento di Fisica e Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, Via Giuseppe Saragat 1, 44122 Ferrara, Italy
⁹⁸ Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Ferrara, Via Giuseppe Saragat 1, 44122 Ferrara, Italy
⁹⁹ NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
¹⁰⁰ Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics & Cosmology (KIPAC), Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
¹⁰¹ INAF, Istituto di Radioastronomia, Via Piero Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
¹⁰² Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Bd de l’Observatoire, CS 34229, 06304 Nice Cedex 4, France
¹⁰³ Institute for Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology (TTK), RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany
¹⁰⁴ Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
¹⁰⁵ Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
¹⁰⁶ University of Lyon, UCB Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IUF, IP2I Lyon, 4 rue Enrico Fermi, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
¹⁰⁷ Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope, 65-1238 Mamalahoa Hwy, Kamuela, HI 96743, USA
¹⁰⁸ Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, CNES, LAM, Marseille, France
¹⁰⁹ Department of Astronomy & Physics and Institute for Computational Astrophysics, Saint Mary’s University, 923 Robie Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 3C3, Canada
¹¹⁰ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli studi di Genova, and INFN-Sezione di Genova, via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova, Italy
¹¹¹ Ruhr University Bochum, Faculty of Physics and Astronomy, Astronomical Institute (AIRUB), German Centre for Cosmological Lensing (GCCL), 44780 Bochum, Germany
¹¹² Department of Physics and Astronomy, Vesilinnantie 5, 20014 University of Turku, Finland
¹¹³ AIM, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, Université de Paris, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
¹¹⁴ Centre de Calcul de l’IN2P3/CNRS, 21 avenue Pierre de Coubertin 69627 Villeurbanne Cedex, France
¹¹⁵ Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, 00185 Roma, Italy
¹¹⁶ University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Northwestern Switzerland, School of Engineering, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland
¹¹⁷ INFN – Sezione di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 2 - c/o Dipartimento di Fisica, Edificio G. Marconi, 00185 Roma, Italy
¹¹⁸ Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto, Portugal
¹¹⁹ Zentrum für Astronomie, Universität Heidelberg, Philosophenweg 12, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
¹²⁰ Dipartimento di Fisica – Sezione di Astronomia, Università di Trieste, Via Tiepolo 11, 34131 Trieste, Italy
¹²¹ Department of Mathematics and Physics E. De Giorgi, University of Salento, Via per Arnesano, CP-I93, 73100 Lecce, Italy
¹²² INAF – Sezione di Lecce, c/o Dipartimento Matematica e Fisica, Via per Arnesano, 73100 Lecce, Italy
¹²³ INFN, Sezione di Lecce, Via per Arnesano, CP-193, 73100 Lecce, Italy
¹²⁴ Institute for Computational Science, University of Zurich, Win-terthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
¹²⁵ Université St Joseph; Faculty of Sciences, Beirut, Lebanon
¹²⁶ Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Peyton Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA

Received: 11 April 2023
Accepted: 16 May 2023

Abstract

Material outgassing in a vacuum leads to molecular contamination, a well-known problem in spaceflight. Water is the most common contaminant in cryogenic spacecraft, altering numerous properties of optical systems. Too much ice means that Euclid’s calibration requirements cannot be met anymore. Euclid must then be thermally decontaminated, which is a month-long risky operation. We need to understand how ice affects our data to build adequate calibration and survey plans. A comprehensive analysis in the context of an astrophysical space survey has not been done before. In this paper we look at other spacecraft with well-documented outgassing records. We then review the formation of thin ice films, and find that for Euclid a mix of amorphous and crystalline ices is expected. Their surface topography – and thus optical properties – depend on the competing energetic needs of the substrate-water and the water-water interfaces, and they are hard to predict with current theories. We illustrate that with scanning-tunnelling and atomic-force microscope images of thin ice films. Sophisticated tools exist to compute contamination rates, and we must understand their underlying physical principles and uncertainties. We find considerable knowledge errors on the diffusion and sublimation coefficients, limiting the accuracy of outgassing estimates. We developed a water transport model to compute contamination rates in Euclid, and find agreement with industry estimates within the uncertainties. Tests of the Euclid flight hardware in space simulators did not pick up significant contamination signals, but they were also not geared towards this purpose; our in-flight calibration observations will be much more sensitive. To derive a calibration and decontamination strategy, we need to understand the link between the amount of ice in the optics and its effect on the data. There is little research about this, possibly because other spacecraft can decontaminate more easily, quenching the need for a deeper understanding. In our second paper, we quantify the impact of iced optics on Euclid’s data.