Results from the U.S. Navy Submarine Sea Trial of the NASA Air Quality Monitor

摘要

For the past 4 years, the Air Quality Monitor (AQM) has been the operational instrument for measuring trace volatile organic compounds on the International Space Station (ISS). The key components of the AQM are the inlet preconcentrator, the gas chromatograph (GC), and the differential mobility spectrometer (DMS). On board the ISS are two AQMs with different GC columns that detect and quantify 22 compounds. The AQM data contributes valuable information to the assessment of air quality aboard the ISS for crew health. The U.S. Navy is looking to update its suite of instruments for air monitoring aboard submarines, and the success of the AQM on the ISS led to a submarine sea trial of a NASA AQM. In addition to the AQM, the Navy is also interested in the Multi-Gas Monitor (MGM), which measures major constituent gases (oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, and ammonia). A separate paper will present the MGM sea trial results. A prototype AQM, which is virtually identical to the operational AQM, was readied for the sea trial. Only 1 AQM was deployed during the sea trial, but this was sufficient to detect the compounds of interest to the U.S. Navy for this trial. The trial occurred in the Fall of 2017 and the data was retrieved from the units at the end of the trial. A brief overview of the AQM technology and preparation for the submarine trial will be presented. The majority of the presentation will focus on the AQM performance during the trial with comparison of AQM and archival data before, during, and after the submarine trial.