Description: Hydrazine, a volatile and flammable colorless liquid, is classified as a carcinogen by the US Environmental Protection Agency. It can cause chromosome aberrations negatively affecting the lungs, liver, spleen, thyroid gland, and central nervous system. NASA’s existing hydrazine measurement technology is sensitive, selective and reliable, but it takes 15 minutes to collect and analyze a sample. For future missions beyond Low Earth Orbit, NASA will need a measurement system that responds within 30 seconds without any performance limitations such as lack of specificity and maintenance challenges. To fulfill NASA needs, InnoSense LLC (ISL) will continue developing a space-worthy micro-electro-analytical sensor for rapid monitoring of hydrazine (Micro-Zin™) in the presence of ammonia in spacecraft cabin atmosphere (SCA) for long-term performance without maintenance. In Phase I, ISL developed a compact Micro-Zin working model and demonstrated its performance detecting hydrazine with high sensitivity and selectivity over ammonia, fast response time (T90 >30 seconds), reversibility, cyclability and reproducibility under NASA-required SCA conditions, meeting or exceeding performance targets. In Phase II, ISL will focus on optimization and scale-up of Micro-Zin following fine-tuning of performance and analyzing life expectancy by rigorous testing. Complex modeling, package design, and construction of a Micro-Zin prototype for SCA-level testing are also planned. At the end of Phase II, a compact, battery-operated, handheld Micro-Zin prototype will be delivered to NASA for further evaluation.

Benefits: Micro-Zin is designed for rapid monitoring of hydrazine for measurements of spacecraft cabin atmosphere to identify and minimize the risks to crew health during exploration-class missions beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO). Micro-Zin will offer sensitive, selective and reliable detection of hydrazine with quick response time (T90 ≤30 seconds) in the presence of confounding background ammonia gas (30X or more than hydrazine levels) in spacecraft cabin atmosphere. Micro-Zin will be compact (device volume ~480 cubic centimeters) and lightweight to comply with mass and volume constraints. One or more of these miniature Micro-Zins can be placed within the crew cabin, thereby supporting crew health and well-being for future space missions.

Micro-Zin will find applications in the commercial space industry (including Lockheed Martin Company, UTC Aerospace Systems, SpaceX, Blue Origin and Orbital ATK), missile defense, the toxic chemical process control industries, environmental/EPA regulatory compliance and biomedical sensor areas. Micro-Zin is an adaptable platform and it can be modified to address point-of care diagnostics. A modification of the sensing element will allow development of highly sensitive and selective biosensors for monitoring disease biomarkers, making the medical market the largest transition opportunity. This market demands high performance, low life-cycle cost and low-power consumption. The global nanomedicine market was $212B in 2015 and could reach $1.3T by 2025.