Post Fire Cleanup Kit

A spacecraft fire is particularly hazardous due to the inherent danger of fires in closed environments. Having effective post-fire clean-up equipment and techniques is critical as acid gases are very corrosive and stick to surfaces. This could damage hardware or electronics or pose a long-term risk to crew health on exploration duration missions. Post-fire clean-up requires a two-stage approach for clean-up of both the vehicle atmosphere and also clean-up and decontamination of surfaces and potentially damaged equipment. 

Early project objectives focus on the clean-up and decontamination of surfaces. The goal of FY26 is to complete a market survey and trade study of terrestrial post-fire clean-up processes, with an emphasis on commercial off-the-shelf solutions. The solutions identified through the market survey will then be evaluated for feasibility in application to spaceflight environments and a recommendation for forward work. Solutions may include dry or wet wiping, personal protective equipment, cleaning processes, and containment or disposal of hazardous waste to minimize potential off-gassing. 

This project should identify an ideal product and simple technique that could be used to cleanup fire products from surfaces in a sealed spacecraft environment following a fire emergency during spaceflight.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — 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.

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.