Ekoplasma - The future of complex plasma research aboard the International Space Station

Abstract

Ekoplasma is a joint German-Russian project, developing the future multi-purpose laboratory for the investigation of complex plasmas under microgravity conditions aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Complex plasmas are low-temperature plasmas, consisting of neutral gas atoms, ions, electrons and micro-meter sized particles as an additional component. The particles become charged in the plasma and as a result of their mutual repulsion form an optically thin cloud that can be studied in its full spatial and dynamical complexity on the granularity scale of each particle by optical cameras. Therefore, complex plasmas allow fundamental investigations down to the kinetic level of individual particles also for a wide field of interdisciplinary topics in classical condensed matter physics. Since gravity prevents the formation of large, homogeneous systems on earth, research on the ISS is essential, and Ekoplasma will follow in a line of successful preceding experiments aboard the ISS: PKE-Nefedov, PK-3 Plus and the currently operating PK-4 facility. Ekoplasma is planned to be launched to the ISS in 2022, and it will cover a wide range of research topics such as solidification and melting, phase separation in binary systems, the transition to turbulence, active matter or electrorheology.