STARDUST

STARDUST is an open facility managed by the ESISNA group at the Institute of Materials Science of Madrid (Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid, ICMM) from the Spanish National Research Council (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, CSIC).

It is a world-unique modular ultra-high vacuum experimental station devoted to the fabrication, processing, and characterization of highly controlled nanoparticles with high yield. These nanoparticles are produced in the gas phase with high purity, controlled size, and stoichiometry, and can be collected in the desired amount (thickness <500 nm) on arbitrary surfaces for multiple uses.

The facility is dedicated to both nanoscience and astrochemistry, and exploits the synergies between the fields. Nanoparticles are used for catalysis, photo-electro-catalysis, advanced sensors, virus deactivation, or plasmonics. Nanoparticles also act as analogs of cosmic dust seeds, and STARDUST mimics their formation in dying stars, as well as the complete journey from the stars to the interstellar medium.

A NFFA-EU program allows scientists from different countries to acccess this facility for performing their own nanoscience and astrochemistry research.