| PROPOSAL NUMBER: | 05 X12.05-9849 |
| SUBTOPIC TITLE: | Advanced Life Support: Food Provisioning and Biomass |
| PROPOSAL TITLE: | Optical Ethylene Sensor for Plant Health |
SMALL BUSINESS CONCERN
(Firm Name, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Vista Photonics, Inc.
67 Condesa Road
Santa Fe ,NM 87508 - 8136
(505) 466 - 3953
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT MANAGER
(Name, E-mail, Mail Address, City/State/Zip, Phone)
Jeffrey S Pilgrim
jpilgrim@vistaphotonics.com
67 Condesa Road
Santa Fe, NM 87508 -8136
(505) 466 - 3953
TECHNICAL ABSTRACT (LIMIT 200 WORDS)
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.
POTENTIAL NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
Detection of multiple gaseous species in plant production facilities onboard spacecraft. Detection of SMACs critical to spacecraft habitability. Monitoring trace species in air revitalization processes and waste handling facilities. Measurement of terrestrial trace atmospheric species during airborne measurement campaigns. Leak detection during space vehicle launch operations.
POTENTIAL NON-NASA COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS (LIMIT 150 WORDS)
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.
| NASA's technology taxonomy has been developed by the SBIR-STTR program to disseminate awareness of proposed and awarded R/R&D in the agency. It is a listing of over 100 technologies, sorted into broad categories, of interest to NASA. |
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TECHNOLOGY TAXONOMY MAPPING
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Air Revitalization and Conditioning
Biochemical Biomass Production and Storage Optical |