Cis-Lunar Object Detector within Thermal Insulation (CLOTH) for the 6U Cubesat EQUULEUS

The Cis-Lunar Object Detector within Thermal Insulation (CLOTH) is a hybrid instrument between multi-layer thermal insulation and piezoelectric film sensor onboard the 6U cubesat EQUULEUS, which is scheduled for launch in the late 2019. The engineering purpose of this instrument is to game-change dust measurement in space by making it possible even with cubesat class spacecraft, which are usually impossble to secure large detection area of a dedicated dust sensor. The scientific purpose is first to measure dust flux in the Earth-Moon lagrange 2 (EML2) region by distinguishing between background sporadic meteoroids and potential EML2 dust population by impact signature characteristics due to respective impact velocities. For data interpretation, impact calibration experiments are conducted with ground facilities for the two distinct velocity regimes.