High Pressure Micro-Sampling System for In Situ Deep Subsurface Measurements

Thorleaf Research, Inc. has demonstrated feasibility in Phase I and now proposes a Phase II effort to develop a miniature, aseptic, high pressure micro-sampling system for in situ measurements in deep subsurface environments. This addresses an important NASA technology gap for astrobiology related studies, mainly how to acquire and process deep subsurface samples for in situ analysis while meeting challenging mass, volume and power constraints. In these high pressure environments, the integrity of the sample may be compromised by degassing of volatile components if brought to the surface. Our proposed high pressure micro-sampling inlet system addresses this by collecting a micro-sample in the high pressure environment, then transfers it into a protected low pressure environment within the instrument housing for processing and analysis. The proposed enabling technology will allow in situ analysis in deep subsurface environments by the new generation of miniaturized, low power instruments being developed by NASA, including GC/MS, isotope spectrometers, and other techniques that inherently require low pressures for operation. Since we plan to follow a modular design approach in our Phase II development, this core instrumentation can be adapted for a variety of astrobiology-related applications including Cryobot missions in deep ice and deep sea measurements.