Bedford, MA- Sionex Corporation announces that Wyle has selected Sionex’s microAnalyzer as a candidate trace-chemical-detection engine to improve cabin air quality monitoring in the International Space Station.
The microAnalyzer, using Differential Mobility Spectrometry, may replace the previous-generation Volatile Organic Analyzer (VOA), based on ion mobility spectrometry technology.
The space station implementation, currently scheduled for the first quarter of 2009, is under the Environmental Health System portion of Wyle’s Bioastronuatics contract with NASA that provides the technologies to properly assess the air-quality in NASA’s manned missions.
“The VOA’s 15 year-old design is incompatible with NASA’s Exploration Vision,” says Dr. Thomas Limero, Wyle’s Toxicology section supervisor.
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“The new unit must be small and robust enough to meet tight launch load restrictions and to permit multiple units on-orbit to enhance reliability and eliminate the need for repair. Further, the system must be simplified by reducing part count and reliance on re-supply and spacecraft resources.”
“Finally, the analysis time must be shortened from hours to minutes so that data are quickly available and resources are conserved if an air quality event occurs. The advanced differential mobility spectrometry in Sionex’s microAnalyzer makes it possible to achieve these goals without sacrificing performance.”
“The selection of Sionex’s microAnalyzer technology for the NASA project confirms that our trace chemical sensor offers unique sensitivity and selectivity in those high-risk situations where detection at parts per billion, in a complex matrix, is essential,” says Wes Davis, CEO of Sionex.
“That's true in protecting lives with the microAnalyzer, as well as in other systems aimed at safeguarding the environment, diagnosing diseases and monitoring manufacturing processes.”
Sionex and Wyle have finalized application scripts and space hardening of the
Sionex microAnalyzer for a space flight scheduled in early 2009. The
microAnalyzer will be installed on the International Space Station where it will undergo extensive field testing.