Miniaturized chemical instrumentation is needed for in situ measurements in planetary exploration and other spaceflight applications where factors such as reduction in payload requirements and enhanced robustness are important. In response to this need, we are continuing to develop miniaturized GC/MS instrumentation which combines chemical separations by gas chromatography (GC) with mass spectrometry (MS) to provide positive identification of chemical compounds in complex mixtures of gases, such as those found in the International Space Station's cabin atmosphere. Our design approach utilizes micro gas chromatography components coupled with either a miniature quadrupole mass spectrometer array (QMSA) or compact, high-resolution Paul ion trap. Key design issues include high sensitivity, good MS resolution (0.5 amu FWHM or better), low power, robustness, low GC flow rates to minimize vacuum-pumping requirements, and the use of a modular approach to adapt to different environments. Among the potential applications for such instrumentation are in situ detection of astrobiology signatures (using air sampling or ground-drilling techniques), planetary aeronomy, and monitoring of cabin air during duration human flight.

A 3X3 array of hyperboloid quadrupole mass filters with a 3 mm pole length was fabricated using the LIGA (LIthographic Galvanoformung and Abformung) process. Electrical connectivity and spatial orientation are established by bonding the pole array to a low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) substrate. A miniature scroll pump for vacuum pumping with a scroll height of 3 mm was also fabricated using the LIGA process. New LIGA fabrication steps (e.g. expose and developed freestanding PMMA, compression bonding of electroplating base and PMMA, low-stress electroplated films) have been developed to fabricate ultra thick PMMA molds with high aspect ratios (70:1) and high precision. Computational analysis was performed to estimate the miniature scroll pump performance characteristics.

The emerging field of materials-based actuation continues to be the focus of considerable research due to its inherent scalability and its promise to drive devices in ways that cannot be realized with conventional mechanical actuator strategies. Current approaches include electrochemically responsive conducting polymers, capacitance-driven carbon nanotubes actuators, pH responsive hydrogels, ionic polymer metal composites, electric field responsive elastomers, and field-driven electrostrictive polymers. However, simple electrochemical processes that lead to phase transformations, particularly from liquid to gas, have been virtually ignored. Although a few specialized applications have been proposed, the nature of the reactions and their implication for design, performance, and widespread applicability have not been addressed. Herein we report an electrolytic phase transformation (EPT) actuator, a device capable of producing strains surpassing 136,000% and stresses beyond 200 MPa. These performance characteristics are several orders of magnitude greater than those reported for other materials and could potentially compete with existing commercial hydraulic systems. Furthermore, unlike other materials-based systems that rely on bimorph structures to translate infinitesimally small volume changes into observable deflections, this device can direct all of its output towards linear motion. We show here that an unoptimized actuator prototype can produce volume and pressure changes close to the theoretically predicted values, with maximum stress (70 kPa) limited only by the mechanical strength of the apparatus. Expansion is very rapid and scales with applied current density. Retraction depends on the catalytic nature of the electrode, and state-of-the-art commercial fuel cell electrodes should allow rates surpassing 0.9 mL's^-1.cm^-2 and 370 kPa's^-1.cm^-2. We anticipate that this approach will provide a new direction for producing scalable, low-weight, high performance actuators that will be useful in a broad range of applications.

The Microarray Assay for Solar System Exploration (MASSE) is based on the use of immunological reactions to detect chemical compounds in samples of extraterrestrial material. In order for this technology to be useful for in situ studies on any given planet, molecules present within the material examined must be extracted and recognizable to the antibodies used in the assays. Experiments are currently being conducted on the immunological detection of agents in environmental samples, including soils and JSC Mars - 1 Martian regolith simulant and progress to date is discussed in the context of the development of the MASSE instrument.

No abstract available.

A miniature linear synchronous motor was designed, fabricated and tested. Actuation was achieved through interaction of traveling magnetic wave, generated by linear array of microcoils on a stator, and permanent magnets on a rotor. Two configurations of the motor were investigated. One with a single, hand assembled permanent magnet on rotor and corresponding array of multiturn microcoils, the other, a fully microfabricated rotor with embedded array of screenplated permanent magnets and serpentine microcoils on stator. Motion of the rotor is constrained by silicon dovetail microjoints. A numerical model was developed for modeling and control. The motor was tested under various operating conditions with both open and closed loop control.

The current status of orbital and in-situ surface nuclear measurements conducted on other planetary bodies is briefly reviewed. In-situ subsurface nuclear measurements used on earth to interrogate geological media down hole are described and their applicability on other planets is explored. Challenges that these techniques and associated devices are likely to face on other planets are discussed and opportunities for innovation that would benefit application both on other planets and on earth are identified.

Avalanche Photodiode (APD) arrays are being applied to Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) for elemental analysis with standoff detection capability. This instrument, which represents a valuable addition to planetary rover missions as well as Earth-based applications, benefits from the advantages common to both Geiger-mode and proportional APDs, which are solid-state detectors with virtually single-photon sensitivity, higher quantum efficiency than photomultiplier tubes or intensified CCDs, and rapid sub-nanosecond response speed. We have demonstrated LIBS detectability better than 770 parts-per-billion of sodium utilizing the photon-counting Geiger-mode APD. In a LIBS system, an APD array offers the unparalleled prospect of selecting in each channel the most appropriate temporal window for detecting the target species. In real-time detection systems, such as microfluidics-based fluorescence detection of bacterial spores, these compact, robust APD arrays promise portable hand-held instruments that utilize tight optical coupling.

Propagation of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation through the atmosphere of a planet is affected by the atmospheric composition. Therefore it indirectly influences the incidence of this harmful radiation on biological organisms. In Earth, the atmospheric parameters have been characterized by both direct measurements and indirect ground and space technologies. Among these parameters, the aerosols are the least known atmospheric constituents. In the case of Mars, there are two important aspects to be pointed out: the solar UV radiation reaching the surface is very high, and the amount of atmospheric aerosols is very large. Thus, the protective role of aerosols against the UV radiation in the Martian atmosphere is subject to be investigated. We propose to determine the characteristics of aerosols by using photometric techniques based on Earth-based experiments. Among these techniques, the Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) is considered one of the most suitable methods to determine the atmospheric aerosol optical thickness, which gives information about the aerosol atmospheric content and size distribution. The equipment to be developed is a photometric device, composed of a multi-sensor-channel array ranging in the visible (VIS) spectrum. The data thus obtained are inserted into an algorithm, which is developed also in this work, and the aerosol parameters are calculated.

Recent advances in the development of microfabricated lab-on-a-chip analysis systems have enhanced the feasibility and capabilities of in situ chemical and biochemical analyzers. While a wide variety of bio-organic molecules can be probed, we have focused our initial studies on the development of an amino acid analyzer with the hypothesis that extraterrestrial life would be based on homochiral amino acid polymers. In previous work, we developed a prototype electrophoresis chip, detection system and analysis method where the hydrolyzed amino acids were labeled with fluorescein and then analyzed in minutes via a capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) separation in the presence of γ-cyclodextrin as the chiral recognition agent. In more recent work, we have demonstrated the feasibility of performing amino acid composition and chirality analyses using fluorescamine as the labeling reagent. Fluorescamine is advantageous because it reacts more rapidly with amino acids, has a low fluorescence background and because such a chemistry would interface directly with the Mars Organic Detector (MOD-I) concept being developed at Scripps. A more advanced analysis system called MOD-III is introduced here with the ability to analyze zwitterionic amino acids, nucleobases, sugars, and organic acids and bases using novel capture matrix chemistries. MOD-III, which is enabled by the nanoliter valves, pumps and reactors presented here, will provide a wide spectrum of organic chemical analyses and is suitable for a variety of in situ missions.