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Instrument class · Dust-grain flux, mass, and speed

Dust Detector

An instrument that detects the tiny dust grains of space — from cometary and interplanetary dust to the particles of planetary rings — measuring their speed, mass, and sometimes composition.

Instruments of this class

  • Cassini Cosmic Dust Analyzer (CDA)Instrument

    Cassini's dust detector, which sampled the grains of Saturn's rings and the ice particles of Enceladus's plume, measuring their composition and revealing the moon's subsurface ocean.

Knowledge connections

Sources

The primary and reference sources this topic draws on.

  • NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration

    Mission data, planetary science, space telescopes, and public-domain imagery.

    Most NASA-produced imagery is in the public domain; individual items are checked for usage terms before publication.

  • ESAEuropean Space Agency

    European missions, observatories, and space science imagery.