MMaJIC, an Experimental Chamber for Investigating Soldering and Brazing in Microgravity

Abstract

An E-1 payload, the Microgravity Materials Joining Investigative Chamber (MMaJIC), was designed and built for use aboard the International Space Station to investigate soldering and brazing phenomena in a microgravity environment. MMaJIC is a self-contained unit employing a microcontroller that runs a pre-programed experiment, monitors safety sensors, and supports temperature and video recording. MMaJIC uses individual experiment trays that can be easily modified for a specific investigation. The trays, which include a temperature/video data acquisition card, can be easily changed out and returned to Earth for evaluation. Simple operation of MMaJIC minimizes astronaut time while ensuring maximum sample throughput. It is expected that the results will shed considerable light on soldering and brazing in low-gravity environments, information that is important for NASA in conducting comprehensive repair and/or fabrication operations during long duration space missions.