Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Research Highlight
  • Published:

IN RETROSPECT

A decade of AMS-02

Nature Reviews Physics volume 3, page 308 (2021)Cite this article

Subjects

In May 2011, the space shuttle Endeavour arrived at the International Space Station (ISS), carrying the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02). AMS-02 (pictured) is a particle physics experiment, which in its decade of operation has detected over 170 billion cosmic rays. Such detections cannot be made on Earth, because the atmosphere absorbs most of the incoming particles. Data from AMS-02 have revealed unexpected properties of heavy-element cosmic rays and hinted at dark matter candidates.

A key component of AMS-02, and one that was hardest to design, is its array of magnets. These are used to distinguish matter and antimatter, since a magnetic field bends the paths of particles and antiparticles in opposite directions. The positioning of the magnets is crucial, because if AMS-02 were to leak magnetic fields, it would be rotated by the Earth’s magnetic field, putting the ISS and its crew at risk. The original design for AMS-02 used a helium-cooled superconducting magnet system, but this was ultimately scrapped in favour of neodynium-iron-boron permanent magnets, which promised a longer operational lifespan, albeit with lower field strength.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

Original article

  • Aguilar, M. et al. Properties of Iron Primary Cosmic Rays: Results from the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 041104 (2021)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Related article

  • Aguilar, M. et al. Towards Understanding the Origin of Cosmic-Ray Positrons. Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 041102 (2019)

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nature Reviews Physics https://www.nature.com/natrevphys/

    Zoe Budrikis

Authors
  1. Zoe Budrikis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zoe Budrikis.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Budrikis, Z. A decade of AMS-02. Nat Rev Phys 3, 308 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-021-00320-7

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42254-021-00320-7

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing