Natalia Ivanova: Developing Space technologies at University of Tyumen

UTMN scientists with colleagues from Loughborough University (UK) are working on a joint project for the European Space Agency (ESA).

This project was launched a year ago after the research team won a competition for innovative projects. The competition was held by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) and the Royal Society of London (the leading research center with the functions of the National Academy of Great Britain) in accordance with a memorandum of understanding between these organizations.

We contacted the project manager from the Russian side, associate professor of the Department of Radiophysics of the University of Tyumen, Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Natalya Ivanova, to learn more about the research. 

– The topic of your research is quite tricky. Would you mind explaining what is the “Development of Methods for Removing Nanoparticles from Surfaces of Arbitrary Texture for Experimental Applications in Microgravity”?

– To put it simply, not every surface can be cleaned with a cloth or washed with water, even detergents won’t cut it sometimes. The problem is that you cannot get rid of nano- and even microparticles by using traditional methods... That's when the methods we develop come in. When we mention “surfaces of arbitrary texture” we mean that we work with different surfaces. Each surface serves its own purpose. We use these methods for experiments, by keeping the surfaces (of various textures) for special experiments devoid of foreign matter. For example, we use the methods for microboiling – a process when micro-amounts of liquids and suspensions are boiled. For the experiment to be pure, there should not be any nanoparticles of a foreign substance on the surface of the substrate. As for the part about “microgravity”, it describes a state that occurs in flying vehicles in a parabolic orbit or in space with very low gravity, in other words, in zero gravity. It is important because here nanoparticles are "free-floating", so they can contaminate any experiment and also compromise the safety of the crew and the aircraft itself.

Space vehicles have restrictions on the mass of the cargo on board. This means that you cannot take a separate substrate for each experiment. Therefore to minimize the amount of cargo it is necessary to take a limited amount of substrate and develop an optimal way of cleaning it.

– Does this method have an application outside of the space studies?

– It certainly does, a few in fact. First of all, it can be used in fine technologies: space studies, electronics, optics, laser technology, and much more.

– It’s quite complicated for the team to work remotely. How is the process organized? 

– We are working on solving a common problem, but each team has its own approach. We work independently, but we always update each other on any findings and the general progress.  Last year I've visited the team in England when part of the project was finished. This year we are expecting a representative from Loughborough University. Now we are jointly preparing two scientific articles - based on ours and their results.

– How did this particular topic for the collaboration come up? 

– Some time ago, our colleagues from the UK had run into a problem - they submitted two large projects to the ESA on this topic, and both were refused due to issues related to payload and safety. Then they suggested that we work together to solve this problem. Having agreed, each of the teams passed the idea further, we directed the project to the RFBR and the other team to the Royal Society of London. And so the project got a green light on both ends. 

– Why did you decide to participate?

– We have already dealt with this topic at the university. And we have been cooperating with colleagues from Loughborough for a long time. To be exact, I have been working with them for four years, jointly researching the effect of super-spreading on various surfaces.

– How is the progress on the project?

– We tested several methods with different particles and on different substrates. Some gave very good results, others not so much. Next, we are planning to propose our recommendations to the European Space Agency. Under the program of the ELIPS-4 project, in which our group is officially included, ESA will carry out experiments on the processes of evaporation, boiling of liquids and suspensions on various surfaces in zero gravity.

– How long do you plan to develop the project?

– The grant for research on this topic is designed for two years. But the goal we are working towards is so vast that research in this direction will undoubtedly receive further and, certainly, long-term development.

– Besides you, who represents the University of Tyumen in this project?

– University scientists are involved in this work, in particular, a colleague in the Department of Radiophysics Oleg Tarasov and the Head of the Department of Mathematical Modeling Alexei Tatosov. And most importantly students partake too.