Miniature Vacuum Pump for Planetary Atmosphere Aerosol Separator

NASA seeks to develop an Aerosol Separator (AS) as the sample inlet for any mass spectrometer (MS) operating in a planetary atmosphere containing suspended aerosols, including liquid, icy, and metallic particles. The primary role of the AS is to inertially set apart heavier particles from the gas using the NanoJet technology, and determine aerosol chemical composition, number, and size distribution. The most stressing case for the new AS technology is the unknown 360 nm absorber suspended in acidic aerosols in Venus clouds. It is also applicable for aerial and surface missions to Titan and Mars and subsonic probe missions to the ice giants. The MS measurements require low gas pressures created by vacuum pumps, and for the planetary missions, these pumps must be extremely small and lightweight. To meet this need, on the proposed program, Creare plans to develop and deliver advanced miniature vacuum pumps that are compact, lightweight, and will withstand the challenging sampling conditions presented by acidic aerosols and spaceflight. In Phase I, we performed life testing of pumps with acidic sampling gases and developed pump and electronics designs for a flight system. We also identified COTS electronic components to substitute for flight electronics in a ground demonstration system. In Phase II, we will build and deliver pumps and electronics for use in a NASA test facility. In Phase III, we will deliver components for space missions based on our past successful vacuum systems used on the Mars Science Laboratory and ExoMars MSs. NASA seeks to develop an Aerosol Separator (AS) as the sample inlet for any mass spectrometer (MS) operating in a planetary atmosphere containing suspended aerosols. The most stressing case for the new AS technology is the acidic aerosols in the clouds of Venus. The MS measurements require low gas pressures created by vacuum pumps, and for the planetary missions these pumps must be extremely small and lightweight and be qualified for use in space. The pumps must also be able to withstand the exposure to acidic sampling gas and provide required pumping performance throughout mission life. We will employ Creare miniature vacuum pump technology and develop custom control electronics to provide the vacuum conditions needed to support the demanding AS planetary mission conditions. The overall objective is to develop vacuum pump systems to support development of a NASA instrument for sampling of planetary atmospheric gases containing aerosols. The goals of the Phase II project are to fabricate, assemble, and demonstrate the pumps and control electronics that will be used in a prototype aerosol gas sampling system at NASA.   In Phase I, we generated preliminary requirements through interactions with NASA, demonstrated successful operation of existing Creare miniature vacuum pumps with exposure to sulfuric acid vapor sampling gas, and created a preliminary detailed design of pump control electronics. In Phase II, we will finalize requirements and design updates for the pumps and control electronics, we will build and demonstrate the pumps and electronics. We will deliver progress reports, meeting materials, a final report, miniature vacuum pumps, and electronics to NASA.

The successful completion of this program will result in miniature vacuum pumps that are tolerant to the most extreme planetary atmospheric environments in our solar system. The vacuum pumps will be ideal for use in an AS to study planetary atmospheric composition. Potential NASA missions include a mission to study acidic aerosols in the clouds of Venus, aerial and surface missions to Titan and Mars, and subsonic probe missions to the ice giants. The military and commercial market for the Creare miniature pump technology are for lightweight and portable MSs and gas chromatographs for air sampling, radioactive material identification, and homeland security applications.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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