Space agencies around the world are concerned about the hazard and system degradation of space systems causedby impacts of dust and debris particles. As larger particles in Low Earth orbit (LEO) with a diameter of about 10 cmcan be reliably tracked by ground-based radar technology, even sub-millimeter particle impacts can cause seriousdamage to sensitive surfaces and solar cells and therefore have mission ending effects. Unfortunately, very little isknown about those particles in the sub-millimeter size range and its distribution in Earth orbit as well as in lunar andplanetary space.The Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics and Engineering Research (CASPER) at Baylor University, Waco,Texas, USA, in collaboration with the Institute of Space Systems at the University of Stuttgart, Germany, and theMax-Planck Institute of Nuclear Physics, Heidelberg, Germany, is developing a low-cost miniaturized in-situmeasurement instrument for dust and debris research.The instrument has already been selected as the scientific payload of the ARMADILLO 3U (three unit) cubesat,currently under development at the Satellite Design Lab (SDL) of the University of Texas at Austin, Texas, USA, butis also an promising option as a piggyback or hitchhiking payload on future lunar or planetary missions.In the following, the design of the instrument and some initial test results are described.
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