CFD analysis of the “MicroMED” Optical Particle Counter in various planetary environments

The Optical Particle Counter "MicroMED" will be part of the ExoMars 2022 mission. Its design is conceived to optimize the performances in Martian environment. However, tests in terrestrial deserts during dust storms would be very important to the verification of the functioning of the instrument’s electronics and software in such critical conditions. In order to perform such tests, the instrument design has to be adapted to Earth conditions to guarantee an efficient sampling of the dust grains. In this framework, a CFD analysis was performed in order to understand how to properly adapt the instrument design to Earth conditions in the most efficient way.