NASA's nanotech trial succeeds

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 19 June 2007 11:00

Science - Space

A nanotechnology-based electronic sensor able to detect trace gases has been successfully tested in space by NASA, opening a door to smaller and more capable air quality and smoke detectors to protect future astronauts.

"The nanosensor worked successfully in space," said principal investigator Jing Li, a scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center. "We demonstrated that nanosensors can survive in space conditions and the extreme vibrations and gravity change that occur during launch," she said.

The sensors comprise carbon nanotubes coated with materials sensitive to a particular contaminant. When a trace of that substance touches the sensor, the chemical reaction causes an electric current to flow.

The test involved exposing a chip with 32 nanosensors to nitrogen gas containing 20 parts per million of nitrogen dioxide. The rig was taken into space abord the US Naval Academy's MidSTAR-1 satellite.

The advantages of the nanosensor include its small size, low cost, low power consumption and durability.