Environmental and Biotoxicity Sensors

Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and Perchlorate Chlorine Species (PERCS) are highly biotoxic materials, erosive, and in cases explosive. They pose major risks to astronauts and instruments. These compounds form naturally on airless planetary bodies through cosmic radiation of regolith and micrometeorite impacts.

We produce a suite of sensors to monitor these hazards:

• • ROS Sensors measure the total reactive ocygen component in regolith (see the link OxR Instrument at ESA’s website).
  • Hydroxyl Radical Sensors detect the extremely highly biotoxic •OH radical (see the link lunarDBCR Instrument at ESA’s website) and
  • PERCS Sensors (coming soon) will measure biotoxic and potentially explosive perclorate compounds.

These sensors can be deployed in space environments, such as the the Moon and Mars to:

• • Quantitatively measure the biotoxicity of planetary regolith and surface environments.
  • Identify the potential of Martian soils to support life during Mars Return Missions, and
  • Support large-scale, local terraforming

On Earth, the sensors can identify biotoxicity in dust storms, such as Sahara dust affecting Southern Europe, or in ultrafine, nanoscale inorganic particles transported from wildfire forest sites (by the winds). Numerous other terrestrial applications can be also listed.