The CAPS group runs a Light Gas Gun for studying the effects of hypervelocity impacts on ices and rock surfaces, to simulate planetary body cratering processes. This is also used to study the survivability of various kinds of bacteria to hypervelocity impacts, to understand whether extraterretrial life forms can survive the stresses encountered on re-entry from outside the Earth's atmosphere. Non-destructive capture of hypervelocity particles can be carried out using Aerogel.

Our Raman Spectrocopy Suite is equipped with a high-resolution analytical Raman microscope that allows us to carry out non-destructive characterisation of mineral, meteorite and cometary samples.

The now defunct instrumentation group in Kent developed superconducting detectors and receivers for use as spectrometers for astronomy at far-infrared and submm wavelengths. These were also used in Kent for an interdisciplinary study about the way the radio/mm/submm radiation can interact with material inside cells.

Recent work was also carried out on developing software for use with the Japanese ASTRO-F mission, including software development work for the pipeline data processor, as well as destriping and image restoration techniques aimed at an all sky map of extended far-infrared emission covering the whole Galaxy

Links to the various techniques and facilities can be found by selecting links below:

•  Light Gas Gun Facility
•  Raman Spectrocopy Suite
•  Aerogel Manaufacturing

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