Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Tech Transfer
Optical Ethylene Sensor for Plant Health, Phase I
Project Description
Future long-duration manned space flights will rely upon onboard production facilities to grow and produce food throughout the mission. Because the lives of the mission participants will depend upon successful agricultural and horticultural practices, it is imperative to provide them with sophisticated diagnostic tools with which to assure success. Continuous real-time monitoring of gaseous species in the ambient environment is required. There are several gases vital to this application including ethylene, oxygen, and carbon dioxide. Vista Photonics proposes to develop a rugged, real-time, 15 parts-per-billion (ppb) gaseous ethylene analyzer, ultimately compatible with space flight. The sensor technology developed on this project will be further capable of high-performance detection of additional trace gases including moisture and plant respiratory oxygen and carbon dioxide.
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Anticipated Benefits
Potential NASA Commercial Applications: Contaminant monitoring in process gas streams in the chemical and microelectronics industries. Medical diagnosis through detection of biogenic gases in human breath that correlate to specific pathologies. Environmental monitoring and regulatory compliance in agriculture, power production, and occupational safety.
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Primary U.S. Work Locations and Key Partners
| Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
Kennedy Space Center
(KSC)
|
Lead Organization | NASA Center | Kennedy Space Center, Florida |
| Vista Photonics, Inc. | Supporting Organization | Industry | Santa Fe, New Mexico |
Primary U.S. Work Locations
-
Florida
-
New Mexico
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This is a historic project that was completed before the creation of TechPort on October 1, 2012. Available data has been included. This record may contain less data than currently active projects.