Spacecraft laboratories, such as on the ISS, could benefit greatly from the success of the proposed technology. Using the vacuum of space for an analytical instrument is highly undesirable due to the safety factor of deliberately creating any leaks on a spacecraft or space station, and the discharge of atmospheric gases could affect the space vessel station keeping or trajectory. As a result, there is a need for a means to create a vacuum for analytical devices such as mass spectrometers used on the ISS, probes for interplanetary missions, and possible future hand-held use by astronauts. The proposed electrospray diffusion pump offers the potential to be applied to all aforementioned applications.
Over the past decade, especially the terrorist attacks of 9/11, there has been an increasing demand for sensitive chemical, biological, and explosive detection devices. Mass spectrometers, unlike some spectrometers such as ion mobility (IMS), require a partial pressure region to scan for a given mass number indicative of the trace species of interest. Probably the most significant hurdle yet to overcome is how one can create a cost effective, small, and low power vacuum system to make mass spectrometers portable. The proposed technology offers a radical new method to achieve cost, weight, power, and compatibility goals for a new generation of portable analytical instruments.
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