Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\r
Alt text: Scientific hardware on a table \r
Image description: A square piece of scientific hardware rests on a table on top of a silver cover. The hardware has a white board on the bottom with a silver peg at each corner. Inside the pegs is a black square with orange and green electronic components. The green runs along the bottom of the square and takes up the left corner of the black square. The orange electronic components run in 20 stripes along the black square. The orange is interspersed with black.", "items": [ { "id": 462114, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153314, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-3_print.jpg", "filename": "ComPair2-3_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "ComPair-2 will host a gamma-ray tracker with 10 layers, each with 380 silicon detectors, like the engineering test unit shown here. This trial version allows the mission team to test the electronics, measure how well the detectors work together, and develop assembly procedures for each layer. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Scientific hardware on a table \rImage description: A square piece of scientific hardware rests on a table on top of a silver cover. The hardware has a white board on the bottom with a silver peg at each corner. Inside the pegs is a black square with orange and green electronic components. The green runs along the bottom of the square and takes up the left corner of the black square. The orange electronic components run in 20 stripes along the black square. The orange is interspersed with black.", "width": 1024, "height": 683, "pixels": 699392 } }, { "id": 462055, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153245, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-3.jpg", "filename": "ComPair2-3.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "ComPair-2 will host a gamma-ray tracker with 10 layers, each with 380 silicon detectors, like the engineering test unit shown here. This trial version allows the mission team to test the electronics, measure how well the detectors work together, and develop assembly procedures for each layer. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Scientific hardware on a table \rImage description: A square piece of scientific hardware rests on a table on top of a silver cover. The hardware has a white board on the bottom with a silver peg at each corner. Inside the pegs is a black square with orange and green electronic components. The green runs along the bottom of the square and takes up the left corner of the black square. The orange electronic components run in 20 stripes along the black square. The orange is interspersed with black.", "width": 8192, "height": 5464, "pixels": 44761088 } }, { "id": 462115, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153315, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-3_searchweb.png", "filename": "ComPair2-3_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "ComPair-2 will host a gamma-ray tracker with 10 layers, each with 380 silicon detectors, like the engineering test unit shown here. This trial version allows the mission team to test the electronics, measure how well the detectors work together, and develop assembly procedures for each layer. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Scientific hardware on a table \rImage description: A square piece of scientific hardware rests on a table on top of a silver cover. The hardware has a white board on the bottom with a silver peg at each corner. Inside the pegs is a black square with orange and green electronic components. The green runs along the bottom of the square and takes up the left corner of the black square. The orange electronic components run in 20 stripes along the black square. The orange is interspersed with black.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 462116, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153316, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-3_web.png", "filename": "ComPair2-3_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "ComPair-2 will host a gamma-ray tracker with 10 layers, each with 380 silicon detectors, like the engineering test unit shown here. This trial version allows the mission team to test the electronics, measure how well the detectors work together, and develop assembly procedures for each layer. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Scientific hardware on a table \rImage description: A square piece of scientific hardware rests on a table on top of a silver cover. The hardware has a white board on the bottom with a silver peg at each corner. Inside the pegs is a black square with orange and green electronic components. The green runs along the bottom of the square and takes up the left corner of the black square. The orange electronic components run in 20 stripes along the black square. The orange is interspersed with black.", "width": 320, "height": 213, "pixels": 68160 } }, { "id": 462117, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153317, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-3_thm.png", "filename": "ComPair2-3_thm.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "ComPair-2 will host a gamma-ray tracker with 10 layers, each with 380 silicon detectors, like the engineering test unit shown here. This trial version allows the mission team to test the electronics, measure how well the detectors work together, and develop assembly procedures for each layer. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Scientific hardware on a table \rImage description: A square piece of scientific hardware rests on a table on top of a silver cover. The hardware has a white board on the bottom with a silver peg at each corner. Inside the pegs is a black square with orange and green electronic components. The green runs along the bottom of the square and takes up the left corner of the black square. The orange electronic components run in 20 stripes along the black square. The orange is interspersed with black.", "width": 0, "height": 0, "pixels": null } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 377622, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14794/#media_group_377622", "widget": "Basic text with HTML", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Scientists and engineers at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, are building and testing next-generation gamma-ray detectors. The hardware will fly to the edge of space as part of a future scientific balloon mission called ComPair-2 (Compton Pair-2).
Gamma rays are the most energetic form of light and span a broad range of energies. Detectors on current missions do not cover the middle part of that range well, but it’s where supernovae and powerful explosions called gamma-ray bursts shine the brightest. It’s also where astronomers expect to see the strongest glow from the most massive and distant active galaxies, which are powered by monster black holes.
So ComPair-2 will sport new detectors stacked in layers to study midrange gamma rays between 20,000 and 100 million electron volts. For comparison, visible light’s energy falls between 2 and 3 electron volts.
ComPair-2 follows the original ComPair scientific balloon mission, which flew from Fort Sumner, New Mexico, in August 2023. The missions’ names derive from the two methods they use to study gamma-ray interactions in the detectors: Compton scattering and pair production. In Compton scattering, a gamma ray hits a particle, such as an electron, and transfers some energy to it. Pair production occurs when a gamma ray grazes the nucleus of an atom and converts into a pair of particles — an electron and its antimatter counterpart, a positron. ComPair-2 accurately measures these interactions to determine the original energy and direction of gamma rays.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 377591, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14794/#media_group_377591", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Dan Violette, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA Goddard, tips the engineering test unit toward the camera in the ComPair-2 lab. The black carbon fiber frame was fabricated at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and machined and assembled at Goddard.\r
Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\r
Alt text: A man holds a square piece of electronic equipment\r
Image description: A man in a long-sleeved blue lab coat tips a square piece of electronic equipment toward the camera. The square has a white base, with a slightly smaller black square on top. Orange and black rows cover the black square, with green along the right side and covering the bottom right corner. The square rests on a lab bench covered in silver material.", "items": [ { "id": 462062, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153230, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/Daniel_Violette_ComPair2-1.jpg", "filename": "Daniel_Violette_ComPair2-1.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Dan Violette, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA Goddard, tips the engineering test unit toward the camera in the ComPair-2 lab. The black carbon fiber frame was fabricated at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and machined and assembled at Goddard.\rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: A man holds a square piece of electronic equipment\rImage description: A man in a long-sleeved blue lab coat tips a square piece of electronic equipment toward the camera. The square has a white base, with a slightly smaller black square on top. Orange and black rows cover the black square, with green along the right side and covering the bottom right corner. The square rests on a lab bench covered in silver material.", "width": 7852, "height": 5464, "pixels": 42903328 } }, { "id": 462110, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153310, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/Daniel_Violette_ComPair2-1_print.jpg", "filename": "Daniel_Violette_ComPair2-1_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Dan Violette, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA Goddard, tips the engineering test unit toward the camera in the ComPair-2 lab. The black carbon fiber frame was fabricated at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and machined and assembled at Goddard.\rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: A man holds a square piece of electronic equipment\rImage description: A man in a long-sleeved blue lab coat tips a square piece of electronic equipment toward the camera. The square has a white base, with a slightly smaller black square on top. Orange and black rows cover the black square, with green along the right side and covering the bottom right corner. The square rests on a lab bench covered in silver material.", "width": 1024, "height": 712, "pixels": 729088 } }, { "id": 462111, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153311, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/Daniel_Violette_ComPair2-1_searchweb.png", "filename": "Daniel_Violette_ComPair2-1_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Dan Violette, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA Goddard, tips the engineering test unit toward the camera in the ComPair-2 lab. The black carbon fiber frame was fabricated at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and machined and assembled at Goddard.\rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: A man holds a square piece of electronic equipment\rImage description: A man in a long-sleeved blue lab coat tips a square piece of electronic equipment toward the camera. The square has a white base, with a slightly smaller black square on top. Orange and black rows cover the black square, with green along the right side and covering the bottom right corner. The square rests on a lab bench covered in silver material.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 462112, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153312, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/Daniel_Violette_ComPair2-1_web.png", "filename": "Daniel_Violette_ComPair2-1_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Dan Violette, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA Goddard, tips the engineering test unit toward the camera in the ComPair-2 lab. The black carbon fiber frame was fabricated at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and machined and assembled at Goddard.\rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: A man holds a square piece of electronic equipment\rImage description: A man in a long-sleeved blue lab coat tips a square piece of electronic equipment toward the camera. The square has a white base, with a slightly smaller black square on top. Orange and black rows cover the black square, with green along the right side and covering the bottom right corner. The square rests on a lab bench covered in silver material.", "width": 320, "height": 223, "pixels": 71360 } }, { "id": 462113, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153313, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/Daniel_Violette_ComPair2-1_thm.png", "filename": "Daniel_Violette_ComPair2-1_thm.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Dan Violette, a postdoctoral fellow at NASA Goddard, tips the engineering test unit toward the camera in the ComPair-2 lab. The black carbon fiber frame was fabricated at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and machined and assembled at Goddard.\rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: A man holds a square piece of electronic equipment\rImage description: A man in a long-sleeved blue lab coat tips a square piece of electronic equipment toward the camera. The square has a white base, with a slightly smaller black square on top. Orange and black rows cover the black square, with green along the right side and covering the bottom right corner. The square rests on a lab bench covered in silver material.", "width": 0, "height": 0, "pixels": null } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 377592, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14794/#media_group_377592", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "ComPair-2’s silicon detectors are connected to orange bus bars, which provide electrical connections to the full row of detectors. \r
Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\r
Alt text: Scientific equipment covered orange and green electronics \r
Image description: Each column of this black grid is interspersed with strips of orange electronics. Each grid segment is composed of a four-by-four subgrid. A green stripe of electronics runs along the bottom, with orange candy cane-shaped connectors for each orange stripe.", "items": [ { "id": 462118, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153318, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-5_print.jpg", "filename": "ComPair2-5_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "ComPair-2’s silicon detectors are connected to orange bus bars, which provide electrical connections to the full row of detectors. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Scientific equipment covered orange and green electronics \rImage description: Each column of this black grid is interspersed with strips of orange electronics. Each grid segment is composed of a four-by-four subgrid. A green stripe of electronics runs along the bottom, with orange candy cane-shaped connectors for each orange stripe.", "width": 1024, "height": 682, "pixels": 698368 } }, { "id": 462064, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153239, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-5.jpg", "filename": "ComPair2-5.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "ComPair-2’s silicon detectors are connected to orange bus bars, which provide electrical connections to the full row of detectors. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Scientific equipment covered orange and green electronics \rImage description: Each column of this black grid is interspersed with strips of orange electronics. Each grid segment is composed of a four-by-four subgrid. A green stripe of electronics runs along the bottom, with orange candy cane-shaped connectors for each orange stripe.", "width": 8038, "height": 5361, "pixels": 43091718 } }, { "id": 462119, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153319, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-5_searchweb.png", "filename": "ComPair2-5_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "ComPair-2’s silicon detectors are connected to orange bus bars, which provide electrical connections to the full row of detectors. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Scientific equipment covered orange and green electronics \rImage description: Each column of this black grid is interspersed with strips of orange electronics. Each grid segment is composed of a four-by-four subgrid. A green stripe of electronics runs along the bottom, with orange candy cane-shaped connectors for each orange stripe.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 462120, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153320, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-5_web.png", "filename": "ComPair2-5_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "ComPair-2’s silicon detectors are connected to orange bus bars, which provide electrical connections to the full row of detectors. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Scientific equipment covered orange and green electronics \rImage description: Each column of this black grid is interspersed with strips of orange electronics. Each grid segment is composed of a four-by-four subgrid. A green stripe of electronics runs along the bottom, with orange candy cane-shaped connectors for each orange stripe.", "width": 320, "height": 213, "pixels": 68160 } }, { "id": 462121, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153321, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-5_thm.png", "filename": "ComPair2-5_thm.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "ComPair-2’s silicon detectors are connected to orange bus bars, which provide electrical connections to the full row of detectors. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Scientific equipment covered orange and green electronics \rImage description: Each column of this black grid is interspersed with strips of orange electronics. Each grid segment is composed of a four-by-four subgrid. A green stripe of electronics runs along the bottom, with orange candy cane-shaped connectors for each orange stripe.", "width": 0, "height": 0, "pixels": null } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 377593, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14794/#media_group_377593", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Violette examines the ComPair-2 engineering test unit using a magnifying lens in a lab at NASA Goddard. \r
Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\r
Alt text: A man examines electronics with a magnifying glass\r
Image description: A man in a long-sleeved blue lab coat and white gloves leans over a lab bench. He holds a large magnifying lens in both hands and uses it to examine a square piece of electronic equipment. The square is black with rows of orange stripes. It rests on a silver covering on the lab bench.", "items": [ { "id": 462122, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153322, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/Daniel_Violette_ComPair2_print.jpg", "filename": "Daniel_Violette_ComPair2_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Violette examines the ComPair-2 engineering test unit using a magnifying lens in a lab at NASA Goddard. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: A man examines electronics with a magnifying glass\rImage description: A man in a long-sleeved blue lab coat and white gloves leans over a lab bench. He holds a large magnifying lens in both hands and uses it to examine a square piece of electronic equipment. The square is black with rows of orange stripes. It rests on a silver covering on the lab bench.", "width": 1024, "height": 683, "pixels": 699392 } }, { "id": 462069, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153242, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/Daniel_Violette_ComPair2.jpg", "filename": "Daniel_Violette_ComPair2.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Violette examines the ComPair-2 engineering test unit using a magnifying lens in a lab at NASA Goddard. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: A man examines electronics with a magnifying glass\rImage description: A man in a long-sleeved blue lab coat and white gloves leans over a lab bench. He holds a large magnifying lens in both hands and uses it to examine a square piece of electronic equipment. The square is black with rows of orange stripes. It rests on a silver covering on the lab bench.", "width": 8192, "height": 5464, "pixels": 44761088 } }, { "id": 462123, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153323, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/Daniel_Violette_ComPair2_searchweb.png", "filename": "Daniel_Violette_ComPair2_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Violette examines the ComPair-2 engineering test unit using a magnifying lens in a lab at NASA Goddard. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: A man examines electronics with a magnifying glass\rImage description: A man in a long-sleeved blue lab coat and white gloves leans over a lab bench. He holds a large magnifying lens in both hands and uses it to examine a square piece of electronic equipment. The square is black with rows of orange stripes. It rests on a silver covering on the lab bench.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 462124, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153324, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/Daniel_Violette_ComPair2_web.png", "filename": "Daniel_Violette_ComPair2_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Violette examines the ComPair-2 engineering test unit using a magnifying lens in a lab at NASA Goddard. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: A man examines electronics with a magnifying glass\rImage description: A man in a long-sleeved blue lab coat and white gloves leans over a lab bench. He holds a large magnifying lens in both hands and uses it to examine a square piece of electronic equipment. The square is black with rows of orange stripes. It rests on a silver covering on the lab bench.", "width": 320, "height": 213, "pixels": 68160 } }, { "id": 462125, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153325, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/Daniel_Violette_ComPair2_thm.png", "filename": "Daniel_Violette_ComPair2_thm.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Violette examines the ComPair-2 engineering test unit using a magnifying lens in a lab at NASA Goddard. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: A man examines electronics with a magnifying glass\rImage description: A man in a long-sleeved blue lab coat and white gloves leans over a lab bench. He holds a large magnifying lens in both hands and uses it to examine a square piece of electronic equipment. The square is black with rows of orange stripes. It rests on a silver covering on the lab bench.", "width": 0, "height": 0, "pixels": null } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 377594, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14794/#media_group_377594", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "A magnifying glass reveals details of ComPair-2’s delicate wiring, which was manufactured robotically.\r
Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\r
Alt text: Close-up of electronics\r
Image description: Black columns are interspersed with orange on a piece of electrical equipment. Thin, delicate wires extend from the right sides of the orange stripes, like a fringe. At the bottom of is a strip of green and orange. The warped edges of the image reveal the photo was taken using a magnifying glass.", "items": [ { "id": 462073, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153233, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-7.jpg", "filename": "ComPair2-7.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A magnifying glass reveals details of ComPair-2’s delicate wiring, which was manufactured robotically.\rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Close-up of electronics\rImage description: Black columns are interspersed with orange on a piece of electrical equipment. Thin, delicate wires extend from the right sides of the orange stripes, like a fringe. At the bottom of is a strip of green and orange. The warped edges of the image reveal the photo was taken using a magnifying glass.", "width": 8192, "height": 5464, "pixels": 44761088 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 377595, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14794/#media_group_377595", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "A single ComPair-2 silicon detector chip and its associated electronics wait for testing in a thermal chamber at NASA Goddard. \r
Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\r
Alt text: Electronic equipment in a small chamber\r
Image description: The camera peers into a small thermal chamber resting on a table. The outside of the chamber is yellow, and the interior is silver. On the floor of the interior rests a small collection of electronics. Wires connect to the various pieces and extend out of a circular opening on the left side.", "items": [ { "id": 462126, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153326, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-1_print.jpg", "filename": "ComPair2-1_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A single ComPair-2 silicon detector chip and its associated electronics wait for testing in a thermal chamber at NASA Goddard. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Electronic equipment in a small chamber\rImage description: The camera peers into a small thermal chamber resting on a table. The outside of the chamber is yellow, and the interior is silver. On the floor of the interior rests a small collection of electronics. Wires connect to the various pieces and extend out of a circular opening on the left side.", "width": 1024, "height": 1112, "pixels": 1138688 } }, { "id": 462075, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153248, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-1.jpg", "filename": "ComPair2-1.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A single ComPair-2 silicon detector chip and its associated electronics wait for testing in a thermal chamber at NASA Goddard. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Electronic equipment in a small chamber\rImage description: The camera peers into a small thermal chamber resting on a table. The outside of the chamber is yellow, and the interior is silver. On the floor of the interior rests a small collection of electronics. Wires connect to the various pieces and extend out of a circular opening on the left side.", "width": 5340, "height": 5804, "pixels": 30993360 } }, { "id": 462127, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153327, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-1_searchweb.png", "filename": "ComPair2-1_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A single ComPair-2 silicon detector chip and its associated electronics wait for testing in a thermal chamber at NASA Goddard. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Electronic equipment in a small chamber\rImage description: The camera peers into a small thermal chamber resting on a table. The outside of the chamber is yellow, and the interior is silver. On the floor of the interior rests a small collection of electronics. Wires connect to the various pieces and extend out of a circular opening on the left side.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 462128, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153328, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-1_web.png", "filename": "ComPair2-1_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A single ComPair-2 silicon detector chip and its associated electronics wait for testing in a thermal chamber at NASA Goddard. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Electronic equipment in a small chamber\rImage description: The camera peers into a small thermal chamber resting on a table. The outside of the chamber is yellow, and the interior is silver. On the floor of the interior rests a small collection of electronics. Wires connect to the various pieces and extend out of a circular opening on the left side.", "width": 320, "height": 348, "pixels": 111360 } }, { "id": 462129, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153329, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-1_thm.png", "filename": "ComPair2-1_thm.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A single ComPair-2 silicon detector chip and its associated electronics wait for testing in a thermal chamber at NASA Goddard. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Electronic equipment in a small chamber\rImage description: The camera peers into a small thermal chamber resting on a table. The outside of the chamber is yellow, and the interior is silver. On the floor of the interior rests a small collection of electronics. Wires connect to the various pieces and extend out of a circular opening on the left side.", "width": 0, "height": 0, "pixels": null } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 377596, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14794/#media_group_377596", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Inside the thermal chamber, the ComPair-2 detector chip will experience temperature extremes, which will help the mission team assess its performance.\r
Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\r
Alt text: Electronics inside a small chamber\r
Image description: A collection of electronics connected to colorful wires rests on the silver floor of a small chamber. The outside of the chamber is yellow.", "items": [ { "id": 462130, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153330, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-2_print.jpg", "filename": "ComPair2-2_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Inside the thermal chamber, the ComPair-2 detector chip will experience temperature extremes, which will help the mission team assess its performance.\rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Electronics inside a small chamber\rImage description: A collection of electronics connected to colorful wires rests on the silver floor of a small chamber. The outside of the chamber is yellow.", "width": 1024, "height": 682, "pixels": 698368 } }, { "id": 462078, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153250, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-2.jpg", "filename": "ComPair2-2.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Inside the thermal chamber, the ComPair-2 detector chip will experience temperature extremes, which will help the mission team assess its performance.\rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Electronics inside a small chamber\rImage description: A collection of electronics connected to colorful wires rests on the silver floor of a small chamber. The outside of the chamber is yellow.", "width": 7204, "height": 4805, "pixels": 34615220 } }, { "id": 462131, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153331, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-2_searchweb.png", "filename": "ComPair2-2_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Inside the thermal chamber, the ComPair-2 detector chip will experience temperature extremes, which will help the mission team assess its performance.\rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Electronics inside a small chamber\rImage description: A collection of electronics connected to colorful wires rests on the silver floor of a small chamber. The outside of the chamber is yellow.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 462132, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153332, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-2_web.png", "filename": "ComPair2-2_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Inside the thermal chamber, the ComPair-2 detector chip will experience temperature extremes, which will help the mission team assess its performance.\rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Electronics inside a small chamber\rImage description: A collection of electronics connected to colorful wires rests on the silver floor of a small chamber. The outside of the chamber is yellow.", "width": 320, "height": 213, "pixels": 68160 } }, { "id": 462133, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1153333, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014700/a014794/ComPair2-2_thm.png", "filename": "ComPair2-2_thm.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Inside the thermal chamber, the ComPair-2 detector chip will experience temperature extremes, which will help the mission team assess its performance.\rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: Electronics inside a small chamber\rImage description: A collection of electronics connected to colorful wires rests on the silver floor of a small chamber. The outside of the chamber is yellow.", "width": 0, "height": 0, "pixels": null } } ], "extra_data": {} } ], "studio": "gms", "funding_sources": [ "PAO" ], "credits": [ { "role": "Producer", "people": [ { "name": "Sophia Roberts", "employer": "eMITS" } ] }, { "role": "Photographer", "people": [ { "name": "Scott Wiessinger", "employer": "eMITS" } ] }, { "role": "Science writer", "people": [ { "name": "Jeanette Kazmierczak", "employer": "University of Maryland College Park" } ] }, { "role": "Technical support", "people": [ { "name": "Aaron E. Lepsch", "employer": "ADNET Systems, Inc." } ] }, { "role": "Scientist", "people": [ { "name": "Regina Caputo", "employer": "NASA/GSFC" }, { "name": "Carolyn Kierans", "employer": null }, { "name": "Dan Violette", "employer": null } ] } ], "missions": [], "series": [], "tapes": [], "papers": [], "datasets": [], "nasa_science_categories": [ "Universe" ], "keywords": [ "Ast", "Astrophysics", "Balloon", "Galaxy", "Gamma Ray Burst", "Space", "Supernova", "Universe" ], "recommended_pages": [], "related": [ { "id": 14991, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14991/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Argonne Assembles, Tests Early ComPair-2 Hardware", "description": "Tim Cundiff, an engineering specialist at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois, monitors the automated wire bond of a ComPair-2 detector layer in April 2025. Image courtesy of Argonne National LaboratoryAlt text: A man in a lab uses a microscope.Image description: A man in a white clean suit, gloves, safety glasses, and a hairnet sits in front of a piece of machinery in a laboratory and peers into a microscope. Behind him is a long bench covered in scientific equipment and computers. In front of him, inside the machinery, are what look like two black treads that loop in and out of frame. || 34340D_0388_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg (2000x1125) [1.1 MB] || 34340D_0388_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9_searchweb.png (320x180) [124.6 KB] || 34340D_0388_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9_thm.png (80x40) [27.3 KB] || ", "release_date": "2026-03-20T12:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2026-03-20T12:22:37-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 1202609, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014900/a014991/34340D_0388_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "filename": "34340D_0388_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Tim Cundiff, an engineering specialist at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois, monitors the automated wire bond of a ComPair-2 detector layer in April 2025. \rImage courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory\rAlt text: A man in a lab uses a microscope.\rImage description: A man in a white clean suit, gloves, safety glasses, and a hairnet sits in front of a piece of machinery in a laboratory and peers into a microscope. Behind him is a long bench covered in scientific equipment and computers. In front of him, inside the machinery, are what look like two black treads that loop in and out of frame.", "width": 2000, "height": 1125, "pixels": 2250000 } }, { "id": 14980, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14980/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Prototype ComPair-2 Gamma-Ray Detectors Complete Thermal Vacuum Testing", "description": "Prototype gamma-ray detectors for the ComPair-2 mission rests in a thermal vacuum chamber after testing in June 2025 at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The ComPair-2 team tested the detectors’ performance at hot and cold temperatures over the course of a week and the overall survivability of the layer itself. Credit: NASA/Sophia RobertsAlt text: A piece of equipment sits inside a chamber in a lab. Image description: A cylindrical metal chamber at the center of the image has its door swung all the way open. Inside are silver-wrapped ComPair-2 detectors attached to many copper-colored wires. The chamber is in a lab with white walls and has tubes, wires, and other pieces of equipment attached. || ComPair2_TVAC-1-small.jpg (4096x2732) [3.2 MB] || ComPair2_TVAC-1.jpg (8192x5464) [30.6 MB] || ", "release_date": "2026-02-26T12:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2026-02-26T12:02:25-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 1202201, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014900/a014980/ComPair2_TVAC-2-small_searchweb.png", "filename": "ComPair2_TVAC-2-small_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Iker Liceaga-Indart, a mechanical engineer at NASA Goddard, peers into the thermal vacuum chamber to evaluate the prototype after testing. \rCredit: NASA/Sophia Roberts\rAlt text: A man investigates a chamber in a lab.\rImage description: A man in a navy-blue polo shirt kneels to look into a cylindrical metal chamber in a lab. The chamber door is fully open and inside are silver-wrapped ComPair-2 detectors attached to many copper-colored wires.", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 14373, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14373/", "page_type": "Infographic", "title": "ComPair Infographic", "description": "Explore this infographic to learn more about ComPair and scientific ballooning.Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight CenterMachine-readable PDF copy || ComPair_Infographic_Final.jpg (5100x6600) [3.3 MB] || ComPair_Infographic_Final.png (5100x6600) [11.7 MB] || ComPair_Infographic_Final-half.jpg (2550x3300) [1.3 MB] || ComPair_Infographic_Final-half.png (2550x3300) [3.8 MB] || ", "release_date": "2023-08-08T10:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-08-09T13:12:03-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 857254, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014300/a014373/ComPair_Thumbnail_print.jpg", "filename": "ComPair_Thumbnail_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "These elements from the infographic above show the ComPair instrument on the left and its location on the gondola on the right.Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 14372, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14372/", "page_type": "B-Roll", "title": "ComPair Thermal Vacuum Photos", "description": "Team members work on the ComPair balloon instrument before it begins testing in a thermal vacuum chamber at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. ComPair project manager Regina Caputo (front right), graduate student Nicholas Kirschner (George Washington University, left), and research scientist Nicholas Cannady (University of Maryland Baltimore County, rear) examine ComPair's various components to determine what needs to be “harnessed,” or connected via cable to power systems and the onboard computer.Credit: NASA/Scott Wiessinger || ComPair_TVac_IMG_2141.png (5319x3546) [30.9 MB] || ComPair_TVac_IMG_2141.jpg (5319x3546) [6.0 MB] || ComPair_TVac_IMG_2141_half.jpg (2659x1773) [1.4 MB] || ", "release_date": "2023-07-20T10:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-07-25T08:45:11-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 856273, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014300/a014372/ComPair_TVac_IMG_2159_searchweb.png", "filename": "ComPair_TVac_IMG_2159_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Kirschner (left), Caputo (right), and Cannady (rear) continue to harness ComPair's four main components: tracker, high-resolution low-energy calorimeter, high-energy calorimeter, and anticoincidence detector.Credit: NASA/Scott Wiessinger", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 14354, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14354/", "page_type": "B-Roll", "title": "ComPair Gamma-Ray Balloon Mission", "description": "Carolyn Kierans, principal investigator for the ComPair balloon mission at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, works on the instrument in this video. First, she assembles a layer of the tracker, which is housed in an aluminum casing. Next, she shows one of the tracker’s silicon detectors. Then she takes the lid off the tracker.Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts || Unassembled_Parts_of_ComPair.01740_print.jpg (1024x540) [148.3 KB] || Unassembled_Parts_of_ComPair.01740_searchweb.png (320x180) [94.0 KB] || Unassembled_Parts_of_ComPair.01740_thm.png (80x40) [7.0 KB] || Unassembled_Parts_of_ComPair.webm (4096x2160) [18.2 MB] || Unassembled_Parts_of_ComPair.mp4 (4096x2160) [570.8 MB] || ", "release_date": "2023-05-25T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-07-20T12:46:13-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 855344, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014300/a014354/Unassembled_Parts_of_ComPair.01740_print.jpg", "filename": "Unassembled_Parts_of_ComPair.01740_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Carolyn Kierans, principal investigator for the ComPair balloon mission at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, works on the instrument in this video. First, she assembles a layer of the tracker, which is housed in an aluminum casing. Next, she shows one of the tracker’s silicon detectors. Then she takes the lid off the tracker.Credit: NASA/Sophia Roberts", "width": 1024, "height": 540, "pixels": 552960 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }