Researchers put detectors deep underground to shield them from cosmic rays and background radiation.

Tracking lines arc through the expansive field, recalling cosmic rays shooting across a cloud chamber.

Inspired by his doctoral adviser, John A. Simpson, Dr. Stone performed his first cosmic ray experiments in 1961 while working on Discover 36, an Air Force spy satellite.

Now that the spacecraft is outside the Sun’s protective bubble, its electronics are also vulnerable to strikes from galactic cosmic rays, charged particles accelerated to ultrahigh energies by supernovae and other cosmic engines.

She says lab experiments will now be needed to pin down exactly how DMS forms in space, where ultraviolet light and cosmic rays can power the synthesis of complex organic molecules.