This process was repeated three times, in total, during 2015–2018. Each year, Capture Panels containing from 11 to 12 aerogel blocks were attached to the three faces of the ExHAM (pointing to zenith, ram, and port) they remained in place for about 1 year and were then returned to the laboratory. Possible captured particles may include micrometeoroids, human-made orbital debris, and natural terrestrial particles. Capture Panels, each of which contained one or two blocks of amorphous silica aerogel, were exposed to collect hypervelocity impact microparticles.
The three Exposure Panels were one by one retrieved and returned to the ground after approximately 1, 2, and 3 years of exposure to the space environment.
The three Exposure Panels were situated on the zenith face of the Exposed Experiment Handrail Attachment Mechanism (ExHAM) that was pointing in zenith direction toward space, which was attached on a handrail of the Japanese Experiment Module (Kibo) Exposed Facility (JEM-EF) outside the International Space Station. We deployed three Exposure Panels, each consisting of 20 Exposure Units that contained microbes, organic compounds, an alanine UV dosimeter or an ionizing radiation dosimeter. It included exposure experiments of microbes and organic compounds as well as a capture experiment of hypervelocity impacting microparticles. The Tanpopo experiment was the first Japanese astrobiology mission on board the International Space Station.
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