What is Solar Wind Composition Experiment?
[[File:Aldrin Next to Solar Wind Experiment - GPN-2000-001211.jpg|thumb|Astronaut [[Buzz Aldrin]] standing next to the Solar Wind Composition Experiment.]] The '''Solar Wind Composition Experiment''' (SWC) was an experiment that took place on the [[Moon]] during the [[Apollo program]] ([[Apollo 11]], [[Apollo 12|12]], [[Apollo 14|14]], [[Apollo 15|15]] and [[Apollo 16|16]]). It was done to measure the [[solar wind]] outside of Earth's [[magnetosphere]]. It was the first notable measurement of [[Isotope|isotopic]] solar material.<ref name = Steiger>R. von Steiger, G. Gloeckler, G.M. Mason (2007). ''The Composition of Matter: Symposium honouring Johannes Geiss on the occasion of his 80th birthday'' (p. 162)</ref> The experiment was suggested by by a Swiss team headed by Johannes Geiss of the [[University of Bern]] and Peter Eberhardt of the [[ETH Zurich|Swiss Institute of Technology]].<ref name=Harland>David Harland (2011). ''Apollo 12: On the Ocean of Storms'' (pp. 251-253)</ref> It was partially funded by the Swiss Government. The SWC experiment was done by getting a aluminum sheet and facing it towards the [[sun]]. The foil was to collect the [[ion]] types and energies of the solar wind on the lunar surface. After the experiment, the sheet was placed into a [[Polytetrafluoroethylene|Teflon]] bag, and sent back to Earth to be studied. The experiment was successful and found [[Helium]], [[Neon]] and [[Argon]] isotopic compositions coming from the sun. == References == {{reflist}} == Other websites == *[http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/humanexplore/exploration/exlibrary/docs/apollocat/part1/swc.htm Experiment Operations During Apollo EVAs: Solar Wind Composition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304101914/http://ares.jsc.nasa.gov/HumanExplore/Exploration/EXLibrary/docs/ApolloCat/Part1/SWC.htm |date=2012-03-04 }} [[Category:Apollo program]] [[Category:Science experiments]]