Early Testing of Aerogel and Silicon Detectors for TIGERISS

Nick Cannady, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, examines a block of silica aerogel in May 2025. Cannady uses the light-weight material in Cherenkov detectors for the upcoming TIGERISS (Trans-Iron Galactic Element Recorder for the International Space Station) mission, which is designed to study high-speed charged particles called cosmic rays.

Credit: NASA/Scott Wiessinger

Alt text: A man studies a transparent block of aerogel.

Image description: A man with glasses wearing a blue checkered shirt examines a block of transparent material resting on a table. He is leaning and rests his right hand on the table. The block glows faintly blue. The table is gray with evenly spaced rows of holes.

A block of aerogel rests on a lab table at NASA Goddard. Aerogel is made when a material like silica mixes with a solvent to form a gel. Gas replaces the liquid, leaving behind a porous solid. Waseda University in Japan provides the aerogel for TIGERISS.

Credit: NASA/Scott Wiessinger

Alt text: A block of aerogel standing on edge

Image description: A block of translucent material stands up on a table. The block glows faintly blue. The table is gray and full of evenly spaced holes.

Engineers will use aerogel, like the block shown here, to help determine the charge and velocity of cosmic rays that strike TIGERISS’s detectors. Aerogel is also an excellent insulating material.

Credit: NASA/Scott Wiessinger

Alt text: A block of aerogel lying a table

Image description: A block of translucent material rests on a table. The block glows faintly blue. The table is gray and full of evenly spaced holes.

Cannady studies a block of aerogel in a lab at NASA Goddard ahead of preliminary environmental testing for TIGERISS.

Credit: NASA/Scott Wiessinger

Alt text: A man holds a block of aerogel

Image description: A man wearing glasses and a blue checkered shirt holds up a block of translucent material that glows with a blueish light. In the background is a faintly lit lab space.

For testing, Cannady evenly arranged three blocks of aerogel encased in a thin coating similar to plastic wrap. The final version of the aerogel layer will form a nine-by-nine grid.

Credit: NASA/Scott Wiessinger

Alt text: Three blocks of aerogel on a table with spacers between them

Image description: Three translucent blocks rest on a table. They’re evenly separated by two pieces of thin black plastic propped vertically between them. There’s a light sitting on the table behind them. The background is dark.

Silicon strip detectors, like the one shown here, will also help scientists determine the charge of cosmic rays that strike TIGERISS’s detector assembly.

Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts

Alt text: A silicon strip detector under a microscope

Image description: A square piece of silver material rests on a circular platform under a microscope. The microscope is surrounded by multiple black and white clamps that hold long yellow rods that touch various points of the square’s surface. A silver cannister attached to the base of the microscope has “DO NOT LIFT HERE” written in red on the surface. There are two stickers on the base, one with a red header that says “DANGER” and one with an orange header with mostly unreadable text.

A close-up of a silicon strip detector. Each of the four silicon layers will consist of nine ladders, each with nine of these detectors connected and attached to readout electronics at each end.

Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts

Alt text: A silicon strip detector under a microscope

Image description: A silver square of material rests on a circular platform under a microscope, which is reflected cleanly in its surface. A long rod of copper-colored material touches the utmost tip of the upper left corner.