Researchers aim to reduce the air monitoring equipment’s size to that of a deck of cards while increasing accuracy and response time. Lower manufacturing costs might reduce purchase costs of the advanced air-quality systems.

The air in spacecrafts and homes might get cleaner, thanks to NASA’s two-year joint-research partnership with SPACEHAB Inc.

NASA will begin testing miniature mass spectrometers that can detect and measure pollutants. The resulting development of a compact, portable system that monitors air contaminants may help clear the air in spacecrafts and homes.

Mass spectrometer technology provides a powerful tool to monitor volatile compounds, such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen, in the air. The device probes the chemical molecules in the air, breaking them into fragments and, by use of magnetic fields, deflects them to identify and measure their concentration levels.

“In space, we worry about air pollution that may adversely affect crew members’ health,” says John James, chief toxicologist at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. “The air they breathe gets filtered, but it is then recycled many times, which can cause the accumulation of potentially harmful contaminants. We need a way to tell us when the air is polluted and to help us pinpoint the source.”

For example, if the device detects halon, a chemical used in fire extinguishers, it might suggest equipment leakage. On the other hand, increasing levels of a chemical generally found in lower concentrations might indicate a failure in the air-cleaning system.

Mass spectrometers on the market typically weigh about 100 pounds and take up the space of a car trunk. Manufacturers have reduced some mass spectrometers to suitcase size, but these are still too large for space use.

As NASA prepares to return to the moon and explore other planets, the agency needs a device that fits inside a lunar habitat or Mars spacecraft and can monitor the atmosphere with immediate results.

SPACEHAB has teamed up with Zyvex Corp., which specializes in nanotechnology, to reduce the size of available mass spectrometers.

“Developing, transporting and installing large, complex detection and classification equipment in orbit is extremely problematic,” says Michael E. Bain, SPACEHAB’s chief operating officer. “We are excited about this opportunity to provide a solution that is small, lightweight and portable enough to be easily delivered to, and operated anywhere humans live and work in space.”

NASA will begin testing miniature mass spectrometers that can detect and measure pollutants. The resulting development of a compact, portable system that monitors air contaminants may help clear the air in spacecrafts and homes.

Researchers aim to reduce the equipment’s size to that of a deck of cards while increasing accuracy and response time. Lower manufacturing costs might reduce purchase costs of the advanced air-quality systems.

The new technology also may have applications on Earth. Smaller monitoring devices might be useful for security measures to detect chemicals or locate explosives. Advances in air-quality monitors may improve the detection of unsafe levels of carbon monoxide and formaldehyde, a common chemical found in new furnishings and carpeting, in homes.

“In general, the air inside a house is dirtier than the air outside,” James says. “Advancing technologies for space can serve us on Earth, just as the many innovations that came out of NASA’s first missions to the moon did and still do today.”

Under the non-reimbursable Space Act Agreement negotiated with SPACEHAB through Johnson Space Center’s Technology Transfer Office, NASA research and facilities will join with private-industry expertise to enhance the development of the technology.

For more information, contact Butch Hosler, Johnson Space Center, (281) 483-7372, william.b.hosler@nasa.gov.

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