Advance Aerosol Separator for Planetary Exploration

IDS NanoJet printing technology uses a unique patented method to focus liquid-based aerosol particles to print electronic features. The sheath gas used for focusing provides a gas buffer to prevent the liquid particles from impacting and adhering to the internal surfaces of the NanoJet technology. The transmission efficiency for the NanoJet technology is nearly 100%. In the Phase I project IDS demonstrated that this same technology works for atmospheric sampling of small liquid-based aerosol droplets (0.3-5m). During the Phase I project, IDS was able to develop and validate computation fluid dynamic (CFD) models to accurately predict the behavior of the aerosol particles passing through the aerosol separation device. These CFD tools will be used for design work in the Phase II project. Using particle densities needed for printing, IDS was able to correlate the particle density on Venus to an expected operational lifetime of the aerosol separator operating on Venus. The operational lifetime is predicted to exceed a 1-year operation by more than two orders of magnitude based on calculations. This is a result of the near 100% transmission efficiency of the NanoJet particle concentration technology. IDS demonstrated experimentally that the NanoJet technology would operate well in a vacuum environment to below 0.1 Bar pressure. It is expected that the aerosol separator will operate continuously over a wide range of pressures. The Phase II project will extend the Phase I work to produce a ruggedized, space compatible aerosol separator than can perform well on a mission to Venus and for other atmospheric sampling applications. The Phase II project will test the limits of the new aerosol separator and focus on simplifying the operation of the separator to reduce risk associated with a complex assembly. IDS will have a dedicated test platform for testing purposes. Continuous testing of advancements will ensure that each design iteration is robust. IDS' NanoJet printing technology uses a patented method to focus liquid-based aerosol particles to print features for electronics applications.  The sheath gas associated with the focusing provides a gas buffer to prevent the liquid particles from impacting and adhering to the internal surfaces.  The Phase II project will produce a ruggedized, space compatible aerosol separator that performs well on Venus and for other atmospheric sampling applications.  The Phase II project will test the limits of the new aerosol separator and focus on simplifying the separator operation to reduce risk associated with a complex assembly. The Phase I project demonstrated that the NanoJet technology works very well for atmospheric sampling of small, liquid-based aerosol droplets (0.3-5µm) at pressures below 0.1 Bar.  Operational lifetime is expected to exceed a 1-year operation by more than two orders of magnitude as a result of the near 100% transmission efficiency of the NanoJet particle concentration technology. The aerosol separator will operate continuously over a wide range of pressures.  The Phase II project goal is to develop a robust particle separating apparatus that can survive launch from earth and re-entry in the Venus atmosphere and remain functional for a time period of 4-12 months while continuously sampling the atmospheric gas surrounding Venus. The goal will be to create the type of particle sampler that can be subjected to harsh environments while remaining aligned and functional and still perform like the NanoJet print head when operating over long time periods.  To accomplish this goal, IDS will focus on meeting the following technical objectives. Develop a specification for the types of environments that the particle sampler must survive. Design the particle sampling apparatus to include ruggedized components that can survive the conditions experienced during launch, flight, re-entry, and continuous operation in the Venus atmosphere. Establish a dedicated test platform that will be used to subject the new designs to the conditions expected during flight and operation to/and around Venus. Provide testing of associated particle sampling components to quantify failure modes and operational limits. Subject designs to required shock, vibration, and thermal cycling to identify weakness and ruggedize the design. Use both CFD and Thermal analysis tools for the sampling apparatus design to evaluate hardware in a virtual environment.

Venus provides the single most accessible example of an end-state of habitable Earth size planet. Exploration will identify mechanisms that operate together to produce and maintain habitable worlds. Venus allows us to control for some of the factors that contribute to the geologic evolution of the Earth, e.g., surface gravity, heat budget, plate tectonics and potentially long-lived oceans. It addresses strategic objectives of the Heli physics Science Division to understand the Sun and its interactions with Earth, the solar system and more. Aerosol particles are solid and liquid particles suspended in a gas with size range of 3 nm to 100 μm in diameter. Analysis of aerosols is important because of their major impacts on global climate change, visibility, regional air pollution and human health. Aerosols can be analyzed for both size and chemical composition for a variety of commercial opportunities.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

None of these are guaranteed paths for this specific project — TechPort itself doesn't have an "apply" button. Reaching out to the contact(s) above with a specific question is usually the fastest way to find out what's actually open.