SBIR/STTR
Compact Instrument for Measurement of Atmospheric Carbon Monoxide, Phase II
Project Introduction
Southwest Sciences proposes to continue the development of a rugged, compact, and automated instrument for the high sensitivity measurement of tropospheric carbon monoxide (CO) and methane. The application of recently developed room temperature vertical cavity diode lasers (VCSELs)operating near 2300 nm permits the development of sensitive and rugged instrumentation for measurement of both atmospheric CO and methane with high precision. Phase 1 efforts successfully addressed the feasibility of measuring CO to a precision of 10 parts-per-billion or better over a range of tropospheric temperatures, pressures, and humidity. Phase 2 will extend the technology to simultaneous measurement of both carbon monoxide and methane. The principal objective is the development of prototype instrumentation for field testing.
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Anticipated Benefits
The technology will have direct commercial application in new instrumentation for atmospheric research. Other important commercial applications include combustion monitoring and control, and toxic gas sensing. The instrumentation design could also be adapted to measurement of hazardous or toxic gases, or other trace species, by appropriate selection of laser wavelengths. VCSELs operating in the same general wavelength region, for example, could be used for measurement of two other atmospheric species, nitrous oxide (N2O) and water vapor.
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Primary U.S. Work Locations and Key Partners
| Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
Goddard Space Flight Center
(GSFC)
|
Lead Organization | NASA Center | Greenbelt, MD |
Ames Research Center
(ARC)
|
Supporting Organization | NASA Center | Moffett Field, CA |
|
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
(JPL)
|
Supporting Organization | NASA Center | Pasadena, CA |
|
Langley Research Center
(LaRC)
|
Supporting Organization | NASA Center | Hampton, VA |
|
Marshall Space Flight Center
(MSFC)
|
Supporting Organization | NASA Center | Huntsville, AL |
| Southwest Sciences, Inc. | Supporting Organization | Industry | Santa Fe, NM |
|
Stennis Space Center
(SSC)
|
Supporting Organization | NASA Center | Stennis Space Center, MS |
Primary U.S. Work Locations
-
Maryland
-
Mississippi
-
New Mexico
-
Virginia
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Organizational Responsibility
Responsible Mission Directorate:
- Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD)
Lead Center / Facility:
- Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
Responsible Program:
- SBIR/STTR
Project Management
Program Director:
Program Manager:
Project Managers:
Principal Investigator:
- Alan Stanton
Project Duration
Start: Jun 2011
End: Aug 2013
Technology Maturity (TRL)
| Start: | 4 |
| Current: | 4 |
| Estimated End: | 6 |
Applied Research
Development
Demo & Test
Technology Areas
Primary:
- TA 8 Science Instruments, Observatories, and Sensor Systems
- TA 8.3 In-Situ Instruments and Sensors
- TA 8.3.3 In-Situ (other)
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