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A volatile organic analyzer for Space Station: Description and evaluation of a gas chromatography/ ion mobilityA Volatile Organic Analyzer (VOA) is being developed as an essential component of the Space Station's Environmental Health System (EHS) air quality monitoring strategy to provide warning to the crew and ground personnel if volatile organic compounds exceed established exposure limits. The short duration of most Shuttle flights and the relative simplicity of the contaminant removal mechanism have lessened the concern about crew exposure to air contaminants on the Shuttle. However, the longer missions associated with the Space Station, the complex air revitalization system and the proposed number of experiments have led to a desire for real-time monitoring of the contaminants in the Space Station atmosphere. Achieving the performance requirements established for the VOA within the Space Station resource (e.g., power, weight) allocations led to a novel approach that joined a gas chromatograph (GC) to an ion mobility spectrometer (IMS). The authors of this paper will discuss the rational for selecting the GC/IMS technology as opposed to the more established gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for the foundation of the VOA. The data presented from preliminary evaluations will demonstrate the versatile capability of the GC/IMS to analyze the major contaminants expected in the Space Station atmosphere. The favorable GC/IMS characteristics illustrated in this paper included excellent sensitivity, dual-mode operation for selective detection, and mobility drift times to distinguish co-eluting GC peaks. Preliminary studies have shown that the GC/IMS technology can meet surpass the performance requirements of the Space Station VOA.
Document ID
19940029155
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Limero, Thomas F.
(Krug Life Sciences, Inc. Houston, TX., United States)
James, John T.
(NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1994
Publication Information
Publication: Seventh Annual Workshop on Space Operations Applications and Research (SOAR 1993), Volume 2
Subject Category
Man/System Technology And Life Support
Accession Number
94N33661
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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