Multifunctional Glow Discharge Analyzer for Spacecraft Monitoring

Makel Engineering, Inc. (MEI) and Penn State University (PSU) propose to develop a highly sensitive spectrometer based on glow discharge emission for the detection/classification of gas and aerosol species in post-fire cleanup scenarios. This device would complement technology that is already under development for intelligent fire detection and would provide a robust system to simultaneously monitor the reduction of carbon monoxide and other toxic species by fire cleanup filtration systems. MEI and Dr. Randy Vander Wal of PSU are actively developing a glow-discharge based detection system for DoD (NAVAIR) that will be extremely compact (<1 lb.) and provide highly sensitive detection of explosives and the potential to detect a broad range of chemical and biological agents. This system is a microhollow glow discharge-based electronic sniffer (MHGD Sniffer) and provides the basis for the proposed NASA effort.