XRMON-SOL microgravity experiment module on Maser-13

The XRMON-SOL microgravity experiment observed spatially isothermal equiaxed solidification of an Al–Cu alloy in microgravity on board the MASER 13 sounding rocket, launched in December 2015. It is the first time that isothermal equiaxed solidification of a metallic alloy has been observed in situ in space, providing unique benchmark experimental data. The experiment used a newly developed isothermal solidification furnace in the re-used module of the MASER 12 experiment XRMON-GF. A grain-refined Al–20 wt%Cu sample was fully melted and solidified during 360 s of microgravity and the solidification sequence was recorded using time-resolved X- radiography. Equiaxed nucleation, dendritic growth, solutal impingement, and eutectic transformation were thus observed in a gravity-free environment. This paper describes the technology development of the experiment module.