Nate Ambler thesis proposal presentation on Tuesday April 1st

Space Studies graduate student Nate Ambler will give his thesis proposal presentation on Tuesday, April 1st at 3:15 p.m. at Ryan Hall, room 111.

“Sensor Demonstration in Reduced Pressure Environments: Ozone Sounding using
an Experimental Solid-State Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) Ozone Sensor”

Sensors in reduced pressure environments exhibit largely uncharacterized
behaviors. The characterization of these behaviors is crucial to the
application of sensors in upper atmospheric applications, and space
applications necessitated in the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE),
including the creation of a prolonged human presence on the lunar and
Martian surfaces. One methodology for the examination of these behaviors is
testing of a solid-state device such as an Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) gas
sensor. These types of sensors may offer key benefits in response rates and
accuracy when compared to temperature and pressure dependent sensor
technologies. The thin film ITO sensor for the measurement of ozone,
developed with the University of North Florida, is a unique, easily produced
in mass, and newly designed (patent pending) solid-state nanocrystalline
gas sensor array. These sensors do not require high operating temperatures,
respond at very low concentrations (ppbv), and follow as an improvement to
earlier reported tungsten oxide sensors by Hansford et al. (2005). These
ITO gas sensors were tested and calibrated with different concentration of
ozone (0.5 ppm to 14 ppm) under different total pressures using the
low-pressure test bed at the Kennedy Space Center’s Space Life Science Lab
(SLSL) with the support of NASA. The calibration and testing procedure
continues here at the University of North Dakota with Dr. Vadim Rygalov’s
low-pressure testing facilities in Space Studies. These sensors will fly
aboard local test flights with the local high altitude balloon group in
preparation for a launch into the upper atmosphere aboard the High Altitude
Student Platform (HASP). The HASP project, administered through Louisiana
State University and the NASA balloon group at the Wallops Flight Facility,
is a student led research effort. This effort provides an ideal
cost-effective setting for mimicking many aspects of a space environment,
offers students experience in designing and creating a scientific payload,
and is an excellent Science-Technology-Engineering-Management (STEM)
development resource. This research addresses many serious unmet needs for
micro-miniature sensors capable of in situ, real-time analysis of gases that
can detect environmental factors such as contaminants in regenerative life
support systems. Further, such solid-state sensors offer a method to study
physical phenomena such as the mechanisms of water transfer and diffusion in
reduced-pressure environments. Because of their resistance to temperature
and pressure, gas sensors of this type may prove ideal candidates for use in
extraterrestrial applications and space flight instrumentation. Further,
the rugged nature, small size, low mass, increased response rate, and
limited power demands of these sensors most likely begin to satisfy the
rigorous demands of many space flight technologies and future demands of the
VSE. This topic is also the potential basis for a presentation at the 59th
annual International Astronautical Congress. This overall endeavor is
funded in large part by the North Dakota Space Grant Consortium grant, and
with the support of the Space Studies and Engineering departments.