Little, JustinJackson, Wesley Lynn2021-07-072021-07-072021-07-072021Jackson_washington_0250O_22628.pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/1773/46997Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2021This thesis seeks to examine the feasibility of a system that uses Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPTs) to slow down hypervelocity, micron-size ice grains in order to preserve potential organic material contained within. The motivation for this research comes from a NASA call for technologies that enable novel mission profiles to capture grains from flybys of icy ocean worlds like Enceladus and Europa. A mathematical model for analyzing the plasma drag on a dust grain is developed using Sheath Limited and Orbital Motion Limited theories of dusty plasma physics. This model is then used to create time- and length-dependent plots along with contour plots dependent on grain radius and velocity. These plots are used to develop the plasma parameters necessary for adequately decelerating incoming ice grains. A first order approximation of the system feasibility is conducted by analyzing collected mass, energy per pulse, and rate of incoming grains and comparing this to other PPTs and collection mechanisms. The proposed system is technically achievable with an energy per pulse of 11.9 J, and may even increase the organic capture efficiency for missions that have to operate at flyby velocities above 3 km/s. However, matching the 14 kHz frequency of impinging particles during high plume activity is not practical, and tradeoffs must be made in the number of grains the plasma interacts with and the sensible power requirements of the system. Ultimately, this idea may be useful for higher velocity missions, but more work is needed to determine best use cases and develop such a system.application/pdfen-USnoneEnceladusEuropahypervelocitymicroparticlesplasma dragpulsed plasma thrusterAerospace engineeringPlasma physicsEngineeringAeronautics and astronauticsThesis