The commissioning of the Multiple Ion Cluster Source (MICS), one of the four modules of the Stardust machine, is ongoing at the Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM-CSIC). The MICS module will be capable to control the chemical composition as well as the size of the produced nanoparticles.

As part of the commissioning, first successful tests have been made with the production of copper and iron nanoparticles. Dr. Lidia Martínez, one of the postdoctoral researchers in charge of the commissioning at the NANOCOSMOS team, has taken the first sample image of iron nanoparticles (top image). Just a bit of photo retouching and the image in the center resembles that at the bottom, the Ursa Major constellation. Stars and nanoparticles hand in hand.

The first “nano-constellation” at the laboratory!!!