Technical Paper
Microfluidic Ion Chromatograph for In-Flight Water Quality Analysis
2007-07-09
2007-01-3153
Although water quality may currently be analyzed on the ground after a flight, long-duration missions will require the capability to perform analyses on-board. If a water purifier fails, contaminants must be detected rapidly and corrective action taken in a timely manner to prevent serious harm to the crew. Many of the possible contaminants which could negatively affect astronaut health are inorganic ions. These ions can be quantified by ion chromatography (IC), although current commercially-available IC's are too large, heavy, and power-intensive to be used on a space mission. These units also require large quantities of caustic chemicals for analysis, which would pose a significant hazard in a microgravity environment. To meet the need for an inorganic water quality analysis device for long-duration missions, Lynntech developed an ion chromatograph tailored for future planned long-duration missions.