Space Mushroom
Add a spore

Spore format v0.1

A spore is one small, sourced record about how a material behaves in space. Spores are plain YAML files, one per record, so anyone can read, review and contribute them with a pull request.

There are two kinds in v0.1:

Rules every spore follows

  1. Every number has a source. A source names the document, its ID, a URL and where in it the number appears (table, figure, page).
  2. Status is explicit. measured means it came from a real test or flight. prediction means a simulation or model, never presented as measured.
  3. Uncertainty is kept. If a source says a value is a lower bound (”>”), the spore says so. If sources disagree, the spore lists both.
  4. License. Spores are released under CC BY 4.0 unless the source forbids it.

Passport

spore: passport
id: misse2-kapton-h            # unique, lowercase, dashes
spore_version: 0.1
status: measured               # measured | prediction
org: nasa                      # whose published data this is
dataset: misse2-peace          # optional: the source dataset it belongs to
material:
  name: Polyimide (PMDA)
  trade_name: Kapton H
  abbreviation: PI (Kapton H)
  family: Polyimide
  category: polymers           # slug from the taxonomy (src/data/taxonomy.ts)
  type: polyimides             # slug of a type inside that category
tags:                          # slugs from the taxonomy
  environments: [low-earth-orbit]
  stresses: [atomic-oxygen, uv, total-radiation-dose, thermal-cycling, vacuum-and-outgassing]
  applications: []             # only when a source says how the material is used
exposures:                     # what the material went through, in order
  - environment: low Earth orbit
    platform: ISS, MISSE 2, PEC 2 tray 1 (outside the Quest airlock)
    start: 2001-08-16
    end: 2005-07-30
    duration_years: 3.95
    atomic_oxygen_fluence: {value: 8.43e21, unit: atoms/cm2}
    solar_exposure: {value: "5000-6700", unit: equivalent sun hours}
    thermal_cycling: {min_c: -30, max_c: 40, note: nominal base-plate range}
results:
  - property: atomic oxygen erosion yield
    value: 3.00e-24
    unit: cm3/atom
    lower_bound: false         # true when the source reports ">" (sample eroded through)
sources:
  - title: Atomic Oxygen Erosion Yield Predictive Tool for Spacecraft Polymers in Low Earth Orbit
    id: NASA/TM-2008-215490
    url: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20090011780
    where: Table I
license: CC-BY-4.0

Failure

spore: failure
id: galileo-hga-1991
spore_version: 0.1
title: Galileo high-gain antenna failed to fully open
mission: Galileo (Jupiter orbiter)
date: 1991-04
component: high-gain antenna rib alignment pins
materials:
  - {role: pin, name: Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy}
  - {role: lubricant, name: Tiolube 460 bonded dry film (MoS2)}
  - {role: counterface, name: Inconel 718}
environment: [vacuum, deep space thermal environment]
symptom: ...
root_cause:
  summary: ...
  confidence: likely           # confirmed | likely | disputed | unknown
  competing_explanations: [...]
evidence: [...]                # measurements with their sources
consequence: ...
lessons: [...]
sources: [...]
license: CC-BY-4.0

Taxonomy

Every spore is placed by material category and type (17 categories, about 100 types, such as Polymers → Polyimides), and tagged by environment (Low Earth orbit, Lunar night, Venus surface…), stress (Atomic oxygen, Total radiation dose, Thermal cycling…) and application (Thermal control, Mechanisms, Solar arrays…). The full list lives in src/data/taxonomy.ts. Tags must be supported by the spore’s sources.

Planned for later versions