MINIATURIZED TANDEM MASS SPECTROMETER FOR MANNED SPACE MISSIONS

THE SCIENTIFIC AND APPLICATIONS PROGRAMS ASSOCIATED WITH ADVANCED MANNED MISSIONS AS WELL AS THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF THE ASTRONAUT CREWS WILL BENEFIT FROM AN ABILITY TO PERFORM BOTH ATMOSPHERIC MONITORING AND PERIODIC DETAILED CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF UNKNOWN SAMPLES. FOR MANY OF THESE ANALYSES, THE HIGH SENSITIVITY AND SPECIFICITY OF A TANDEM MASS SPECTROMETER IS THE INSTRUMENT OF CHOICE, YET NO SUCH CAPABILITY IS AVAILABLE TODAY THAT IS WELL-SUITED TO THE CONSTRAINTS IMPOSED BY THE LIMITED POWER AND WEIGHT ALLOWANCES OF MANNED SPACEFLIGHT SYSTEMS. IN THIS PROJECT, VIKING INSTRUMENTS WILL CARRY OUT THE DETAILED DESIGN AND EXPLORATORY DEVELOPMENT OF AN INNOVATIVE TANDEM MS SYSTEM THAT PROVIDES BOTH THE SENSITIVITY AND RAPID RESPONSE NECESSARY FOR TRACE CONTAMINANT DETECTIONS, AND ALSO THE FLEXIBILITY TO PERFORM ANALYSES OF UNKNOWN SAMPLES FOR SUCH APPLICATIONS AS MATERIALS PROCESSING OR THE SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION OF PLANETARY MATERIALS. THE SYSTEM PROPOSED IS RUGGED AND LIGHTWEIGHT, REQUIRES MINIMAL POWER TO OPERATE, AND UTILIZESAN INNOVATIVE INTERSTAGE FRAGMENTATION SCHEME AND PROPRIETARY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SOFTWARE TO PROVIDE A HIGH PERFORMANCE, RELIABLE SYSTEM IN A PORTABLE PACKAGE. THE SYSTEM IS BASED UPON A WELL-PROVEN, SPACE-QUALIFIED TECHNOLOGY FIRST USED ON THE VIKING MARS LANDER.