ESA News
http://www.esa.int

11 August 2008

Space sensor perks up medical analysis and environmental protection

Miniaturised ceramic gas sensors, originally developed for measuring oxygen
levels for spacecraft re-entry vehicles, enables improved human breath
measurement apparatus, better control of heater combustion thereby reducing
pollution, and higher safety in fuel cell manufacturing.

It all began in 1993 when the Institute of Space Systems (IRS) of the
University of Stuttgart started to develop special ceramic gas sensors to
measure oxygen distribution in the plasma wind tunnels used to test
heat-shield materials for re-entry spacecraft in extreme conditions.

"The sensors available at that time were no good for space systems because
they were big, quite heavy and used a lot of heating power," explains Rainer
Baumann from the Technical University of Dresden (TU Dresden) who
participated to the development of this new and very small type of sensor.

"So we had to develop a new type of miniaturized sensor to measure re-entry
conditions for spacecraft. The sensors had to be very small and capable of
measuring oxygen at high altitudes and during re-entry."

Since then this ceramic sensor was further developed by TU Dresden for a
multitude of space experiments, among others onboard the Russian Inflatable
Re-entry and Descent Technology (IRDT) research capsule. The IRDT is a
system that uses an inflatable cone-shaped heat shield and a parachute to
return to Earth cargo from orbit.

Although the ceramic sensors were originally developed for space, when shown
to industry at a series of presentations organised by ESA's Technology
Transfer Programme and its technology transfer network partner MST, the gas
sensor technology attracted a great deal of interest for possible use in
terrestrial applications.

As a result, three IRS employees, together with the former head of the IRS
institute, founded the company ESCUBE Space Sensor Systems GmbH in 2000 to
further develop and market the sensor for use in the field of modern gas
analysis, both on Earth and in space.

Accurate human breath analysis
 
"It is very easy to find terrestrial applications for this miniaturized gas
sensor. The sensor reacts very fast and this is useful in many cases where
you need to measure ambient conditions on Earth," says Rainer Baumann.

"One application where the sensor is particularly useful is measurement of
the human breath. With this sensor we can measure oxygen, carbon dioxide and
the flow of human breath, and obtain the results immediately; something
which is impossible with the conventional systems."

The very quick response time makes it possible to obtain a very accurate
breath-by-breath analysis. As the sensor is light and very small it can be
incorporated easily into a mask and used, for instance, in hospitals and
clinics, or by top athletes during extreme strain conditions.

Further development could even lead to a special mask for monitoring and
evaluating the health of astronauts undertaking space missions.

Reducing environmental pollution
 
Another application is the control of exhaust gases in heating systems for
home and industry. The majority of the man-produced pollutants on Earth
originate from burning processing in automotive, industrial and domestic
applications and the sensors can be used to control and optimise these
combustion processes.

"The sensor works well with combustible gasses and can be used to optimise
the burners in industrial plants and home heating systems. If you place the
sensor in the exhaust gases you can control the heaters in real time by
using a special algorithm and ensure that the burner operates at an optimum
level," says Rainer Baumann.

"This system can reduce the exhaust gases that are harmful for the
environment and at the same time, by ensuring the heating system works at an
optimum level, it can also reduce fuel consumption by about 10 to 15%."

Spotting hydrogen leakage
 
Another terrestrial application for the miniature sensor is the development
of a handy, easy-to-use portable system to test for hydrogen leakage in
industrial installations such as the ones used for manufacturing fuel cells.

"Technology transfer is not a one-way street", says Frank M.
Salzgeber, Head
of ESA's Technology Transfer Programme. "We will see more technology
spinning back into space in the future."

Today these miniature ceramic sensors developed for terrestrial use have
also found their way back to space again.

They are now used in the small 'Flux (Phi) Probe Experiment - Time resolved
Measurement of Atomic Oxygen' (FIPEX) unit located outside the International
Space Station (ISS) where they measure the level of gasses outside the space
station.

ESA's Technology Transfer Programme Office
 
The main mission of the ESA's Technology Transfer Programme Office (TTPO) is
to facilitate the use of space technology and space systems for non-space
applications and to further demonstrate the benefit of the European space
programme to European citizens. The TTPO is responsible for defining the
overall approach and strategy for the transfer of space technologies
including the incubation of start-up companies and their funding.

For more information on ESA's Technology Transfer Programme, please contact:

Technology Transfer Programme
European Space Agency - ESTEC
Keplerlaan 1, P.O. BOX 299, 2200 AG, Noordwijk
The Netherlands
Office: +31 (0) 71 565 3910
Fax: +31 (0) 71 565 6635
Email: ttp {at} esa.int
Website: http://www.esa.int/ttp

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