AUTOMATED ATMOSPHERIC ANALYSIS FOR MANNED SPACE MISSIONS

A RUGGED, COMPACT, AND RELIABLE INSTRUMENT IS NEEDED FOR AUTOMATED MEASUREMENT OF TRACE CONTAMINANTS IN CABIN ATMOSPHERES FOR MANNED SPACE MISSIONS. THIS RESEARCH EXAMINES THE FEASIBILITY OF USING AN ARRAY OF SEMICONDUCTOR SENSORS TOGETHER WITH PATTERN RECOGNITION SOFTWARE TO MONITOR CONTAMINANTS. SEMICONDUCTOR SENSORS ARE HIGHLY SENSITIVE, RUGGED, STABLE, AND SMALL, BUT UNTIL NOW THEIR USEFULNESS HAS BEEN LIMITED BY THEIR LACK OF SELECTIVITY. THE APPLICANT RECENTLY SOLVED THIS PROBLEM BY USING AN ARRAYOF THESE SEMICONDUCTOR SENSORS WITH MICROCOMPUTATIONAL SELECTIVITY ENHANCEMENT TO ACHIEVE SELECTIVE MULTI-GAS ANALYSIS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH EXTENDS THIS TECHNIQUE TO DEVELOP INSTRUMENTS THAT CAN IDENTIFY AND MEASURE CONTAMINANTS IN SPACECRAFT CABINS. THE PHASE I RESEARCH WILL DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF APPLYING PATTERN RECOGNITION TECHNIQUES TO SELECTIVELY IDENTIFY ONE OF EIGHT REPRESENTATIVE CONTAMINANTS USING MEASUREMENTS FROM AN ARRAY OF SEMICONDUCTOR SENSORS. IN PHASE 2 A SINGLE-CHIP SENSOR ARRAY WILL BE FABRICATED AND COUPLED WITH SOFTWARE CAPABLE OF IDENTIFICATION AND MEASUREMENT OF MIXTURES OF CONTAMINANTS IN SPACECRAFT CREW CABINS. SUCCESSFUL RESEARCH WILL RESULT IN AUTOMATED INSTRUMENTS THAT IDENTIFY AND SELECTIVELY MEASURE INORGANIC AND VOLATILE ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS.