Plasma Air Decontamination System (PADS), Phase I

The proposed Plasma Air Decontamination System (PADS) is a trace contaminant control device based on non-thermal atmospheric pressure plasma technology that operates at ambient pressure and temperature and has the potential to replace the existing Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) used on the International Space Station and future exploration vehicles. Non-thermal atmospheric plasma has been proven successful in the destruction of a variety of organic carbons found in space craft environments. The prototype plasma reactor on which the PADS will be based has also shown successful destruction of organic carbon with good power efficiency. Incorporation of this technology would facilitate a decrease in size or total elimination of the intensive re-supply of activated carbon for adsorbent beds, and possible elimination of the high temperature catalytic reactor. This would result in significant savings in launch mass and cost for long duration missions and a reduction in power requirements with the elimination of the catalytic reactor. This system also has great potential to be scaled to a variety of applications, allowing realization of the benefits that come with having systems common to multiple life support systems such as lower mass logistics and spares.

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.