Image courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory\r
Alt text: A man in a lab uses a microscope.\r
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.", "items": [ { "id": 519387, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "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": 519465, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1202659, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014900/a014991/34340D_0388_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9_searchweb.png", "filename": "34340D_0388_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9_searchweb.png", "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": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 519466, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1202660, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014900/a014991/34340D_0388_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9_thm.png", "filename": "34340D_0388_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9_thm.png", "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": 80, "height": 40, "pixels": 3200 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 379920, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14991/#media_group_379920", "widget": "Basic text with HTML", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "In spring 2025, scientists and engineers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois, assembled two layers of next-generation gamma-ray detectors for NASA’s upcoming ComPair-2 scientific balloon mission, which will be led by researchers at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
Gamma rays are the most energetic form of light and span a broad range of energies. Detectors on current missions have a gap in coverage 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.
ComPair-2 will sport 10 layers of detectors to study gamma rays between 20,000 and 100 million electron volts. For comparison, visible light’s energy falls between 2 and 3 electron volts.
The mission’s name derives from the two methods it uses to study gamma-ray interactions in its detectors: Compton scattering and pair production. In Compton scattering, a gamma ray hits a charged 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 energy and direction of the arriving gamma rays.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 379911, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14991/#media_group_379911", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Each ComPair-2 layer, like the one shown here, has approximately 30,000 wire bonds that connect its gamma-ray detectors to the front-end electronics board. Each bond is assembled by automation with oversight from Cundiff and his colleagues.\r
Image courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory\r
Alt text: Wire bonding a detector layer \r
Image description: A sturdy black block with what looks like a needle attached lowers onto a tray of green and gold electronics.", "items": [ { "id": 519388, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1202606, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014900/a014991/34340D_0262_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "filename": "34340D_0262_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Each ComPair-2 layer, like the one shown here, has approximately 30,000 wire bonds that connect its gamma-ray detectors to the front-end electronics board. Each bond is assembled by automation with oversight from Cundiff and his colleagues.\rImage courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory\rAlt text: Wire bonding a detector layer \rImage description: A sturdy black block with what looks like a needle attached lowers onto a tray of green and gold electronics.", "width": 2000, "height": 1125, "pixels": 2250000 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 379912, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14991/#media_group_379912", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Cundiff watches the machine fasten bond wires through a microscope.\r
Image courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory\r
Alt text: A man in a lab uses a microscope.\r
Image description: A man in a white clean suit, gloves, safety glasses, and a hair net looks through a microscope. He’s watching machinery work on a tray of green and gold electronics. The machinery is housed inside a white metal box with open sides and moves via two black treads. ", "items": [ { "id": 519391, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1202610, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014900/a014991/34340D_0200_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "filename": "34340D_0200_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Cundiff watches the machine fasten bond wires through a microscope.\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 hair net looks through a microscope. He’s watching machinery work on a tray of green and gold electronics. The machinery is housed inside a white metal box with open sides and moves via two black treads. ", "width": 2000, "height": 1125, "pixels": 2250000 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 379913, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14991/#media_group_379913", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "A different view of Cundiff overseeing the automated wire bonding process. \r
Image courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory\r
Alt text: A man in a lab uses a microscope.\r
Image description: A man in a white clean suit, gloves, safety glasses, and a hair net looks through a microscope. He’s watching machinery work on a tray of green and gold electronics. The machinery, seen from the side, is housed inside a white metal box with open sides and moves via two black treads. In the background is a brightly lit lab space.", "items": [ { "id": 519394, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1202614, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014900/a014991/34340D_1123_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "filename": "34340D_1123_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A different view of Cundiff overseeing the automated wire bonding process. \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 hair net looks through a microscope. He’s watching machinery work on a tray of green and gold electronics. The machinery, seen from the side, is housed inside a white metal box with open sides and moves via two black treads. In the background is a brightly lit lab space.", "width": 2000, "height": 1125, "pixels": 2250000 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 379914, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14991/#media_group_379914", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Each ComPair-2 layer has 95 AstroPix quad chips like the one shown here. Each quad chip has four silicon pixel gamma-ray detectors. Each of these detectors incorporates 1,225 pixels. AstroPix detectors, which are developed by NASA Goddard, function similarly to the sensors in cellphone cameras except they are sensitive to gamma-ray light. \r
Image courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory\r
Alt text: A gloved hand holds a detector square.\r
Image description: A person in a white jacket and gloves holds a two-by-two square of what looks like copper-colored computer chips. The camera cuts off the person at the shoulders. Behind them, out of focus, is laboratory equipment.", "items": [ { "id": 519400, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1202615, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014900/a014991/34340D_0569_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "filename": "34340D_0569_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Each ComPair-2 layer has 95 AstroPix quad chips like the one shown here. Each quad chip has four silicon pixel gamma-ray detectors. Each of these detectors incorporates 1,225 pixels. AstroPix detectors, which are developed by NASA Goddard, function similarly to the sensors in cellphone cameras except they are sensitive to gamma-ray light. \rImage courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory\rAlt text: A gloved hand holds a detector square.\rImage description: A person in a white jacket and gloves holds a two-by-two square of what looks like copper-colored computer chips. The camera cuts off the person at the shoulders. Behind them, out of focus, is laboratory equipment.", "width": 2000, "height": 1125, "pixels": 2250000 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 379915, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14991/#media_group_379915", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Manoj Jadhav, technical project leader at Argonne’s Micro Assembly Facility, works on one frame that will house a ComPair-2 detector layer. \r
Image courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory\r
Alt text: A man in a lab uses equipment.\r
Image description: A man in a white clean suit, gloves, hair net, and safety glasses adjusts a piece of equipment in a laboratory. The equipment rests on a blue mat on top of a bench. The lab is brightly lit, but a lamp clamped to the bench provides more illumination for the man’s work. ", "items": [ { "id": 519401, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1202607, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014900/a014991/34340D_0739_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "filename": "34340D_0739_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Manoj Jadhav, technical project leader at Argonne’s Micro Assembly Facility, works on one frame that will house a ComPair-2 detector layer. \rImage courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory\rAlt text: A man in a lab uses equipment.\rImage description: A man in a white clean suit, gloves, hair net, and safety glasses adjusts a piece of equipment in a laboratory. The equipment rests on a blue mat on top of a bench. The lab is brightly lit, but a lamp clamped to the bench provides more illumination for the man’s work. ", "width": 2000, "height": 1125, "pixels": 2250000 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 379916, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14991/#media_group_379916", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Jadhav carefully lowers an AstroPix quad chip into the frame for the detector layer. The AstroPix chips and all the electronics for detecting gamma rays will rest on this frame. \r
Image courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory\r
Alt text: Gloved hands adjust a piece of equipment.\r
Image description: A pair of gloved hands adjusts a piece of equipment. The right hand moves a sliding attachment along one side. Suspended from the attachment by what looks like four tiny black suction cups is a silver block of material. The person is lowering it into hole in a silver frame where similar holes have been filled with other silver blocks. The piece of equipment has a control panel at the back with several red switches. The one closest to the camera says “POWER” at the top in white lettering. ", "items": [ { "id": 519410, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1202612, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014900/a014991/34340D_1042_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "filename": "34340D_1042_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Jadhav carefully lowers an AstroPix quad chip into the frame for the detector layer. The AstroPix chips and all the electronics for detecting gamma rays will rest on this frame. \rImage courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory\rAlt text: Gloved hands adjust a piece of equipment.\rImage description: A pair of gloved hands adjusts a piece of equipment. The right hand moves a sliding attachment along one side. Suspended from the attachment by what looks like four tiny black suction cups is a silver block of material. The person is lowering it into hole in a silver frame where similar holes have been filled with other silver blocks. The piece of equipment has a control panel at the back with several red switches. The one closest to the camera says “POWER” at the top in white lettering. ", "width": 2000, "height": 1125, "pixels": 2250000 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 379917, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14991/#media_group_379917", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Jessica Metcalfe, a physicist at Argonne and the lab’s principal investigator for ComPair-2, helps Cundiff with assembly.\r
Image courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory\r
Alt text: Scientists work in a lab.\r
Image description: A woman in a white clean suit, gloves, safety glasses, and a hair net sits at a table in a brightly lit laboratory. She’s opening a container, and the space on the table around her is cluttered with tools and other scientific equipment. Further along the table a man in similar attire reaches in front of him to adjust something. ", "items": [ { "id": 519411, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1202611, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014900/a014991/34340D_1615_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "filename": "34340D_1615_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Jessica Metcalfe, a physicist at Argonne and the lab’s principal investigator for ComPair-2, helps Cundiff with assembly.\rImage courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory\rAlt text: Scientists work in a lab.\rImage description: A woman in a white clean suit, gloves, safety glasses, and a hair net sits at a table in a brightly lit laboratory. She’s opening a container, and the space on the table around her is cluttered with tools and other scientific equipment. Further along the table a man in similar attire reaches in front of him to adjust something. ", "width": 2000, "height": 1125, "pixels": 2250000 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 379918, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14991/#media_group_379918", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Metcalfe and Jadhav look on as Cundiff examines a ComPair-2 layer under a microscope. \r
Image courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory\r
Alt text: Two scientists watch a third work in a lab.\r
Image description: A woman and a man in white clean suits, safety glasses, and hair nets stand in a brightly lit laboratory. A man in similar attire sits at a table between them. He uses a microscope to examine a tray of gold-colored electronics. ", "items": [ { "id": 519408, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1202613, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014900/a014991/34340D_1339_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "filename": "34340D_1339_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Metcalfe and Jadhav look on as Cundiff examines a ComPair-2 layer under a microscope. \rImage courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory\rAlt text: Two scientists watch a third work in a lab.\rImage description: A woman and a man in white clean suits, safety glasses, and hair nets stand in a brightly lit laboratory. A man in similar attire sits at a table between them. He uses a microscope to examine a tray of gold-colored electronics. ", "width": 2000, "height": 1125, "pixels": 2250000 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 379919, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14991/#media_group_379919", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Jadhav tests a ComPair-2 layer prior to delivery to NASA Goddard. He provides power to the front-end electronics that control the detectors to confirm the wire bonding and assembly were performed correctly.\r
Image courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory\r
Alt text: A man works in a lab.\r
Image description: A man in white clean suit, gloves, safety glasses, and a hair net sits at a table in a brightly lit laboratory. He tests a tray of gold-colored electronics on a table in front of him. He looks a small yellow box in the lower left corner of the image, which is slightly out of focus. ", "items": [ { "id": 519409, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 1202608, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014900/a014991/34340D_1502_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "filename": "34340D_1502_PSE_NASA_Goddard_Gamma-Ray_Tracker_Assembly_Process_WEB_16x9.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Jadhav tests a ComPair-2 layer prior to delivery to NASA Goddard. He provides power to the front-end electronics that control the detectors to confirm the wire bonding and assembly were performed correctly.\rImage courtesy of Argonne National Laboratory\rAlt text: A man works in a lab.\rImage description: A man in white clean suit, gloves, safety glasses, and a hair net sits at a table in a brightly lit laboratory. He tests a tray of gold-colored electronics on a table in front of him. He looks a small yellow box in the lower left corner of the image, which is slightly out of focus. ", "width": 2000, "height": 1125, "pixels": 2250000 } } ], "extra_data": {} } ], "studio": "gms", "funding_sources": [ "PAO" ], "credits": [ { "role": "Producer", "people": [ { "name": "Sophia Roberts", "employer": "eMITS" } ] }, { "role": "Technical support", "people": [ { "name": "Aaron E. Lepsch", "employer": "ADNET Systems, Inc." } ] }, { "role": "Science writer", "people": [ { "name": "Jeanette Kazmierczak", "employer": "University of Maryland College Park" } ] } ], "missions": [], "series": [ "Astrophysics Stills" ], "tapes": [], "papers": [], "datasets": [], "nasa_science_categories": [ "Universe" ], "keywords": [ "Ast", "Astrophysics", "Balloon", "Galaxy", "Gamma Ray", "Gamma Ray Burst", "Hardware", "Space", "Supernova", "Universe" ], "recommended_pages": [], "related": [ { "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": 14794, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14794/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Developing NASA’s ComPair-2 Detectors", "description": "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. Credit: NASA/Sophia RobertsAlt text: Scientific hardware on a table 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. || ComPair2-3_print.jpg (1024x683) [631.9 KB] || ComPair2-3.jpg (8192x5464) [29.1 MB] || ComPair2-3_searchweb.png (320x180) [124.5 KB] || ComPair2-3_web.png (320x213) [137.6 KB] || ComPair2-3_thm.png [28.0 KB] || ", "release_date": "2025-03-11T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2025-03-11T12:44:33-04:00", "main_image": { "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": 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": [] }