Monitoring Systems for Inorganic and Organic Analytes in Spacecraft Water Streams

Water recovery from wastewater is considered required for long-duration human exploration missions away from Earth. Without substantial water recovery, life support systems launch weights are prohibitively large. nbsp;To insure the quality of this water, NASA is seeking miniature analytical systems i.e., sensor suites capable of simultaneous measurement of inorganic or organic species in potable and waste water.nbsp;In this proposed STTR project TDA Research, in collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez (UPRM), will develop a miniature device that can quickly analyze mineral and organic species in water. The device will provide near-real-time analysis with increased sensitivity and signal to noise ratio for metal cations and organic species such as the dimethanesilanediol, chloroform, dichloromethane, benzene etc. in water at low concentrations.nbsp;In Phase I we will carry out a proof-of-concept demonstration in a breadboard device and complete the design for a high fidelity device to minimize the monitorrsquo;s footprint and overall dimensions, elevating the TRL to 4. In Phase II we will build a high-fidelity prototype with reduced dimensions, and demonstrate the analysis of various mineral and organic constituents, elevating the TRL to 6.