AAAR 36th Annual Conference October 16 - October 20, 2017 Raleigh Convention Center Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
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Aerosol Sampling Experiment on the International Space Station Part I: Overview and Findings
MARIT MEYER, Gary Casuccio, NASA Glenn Research Center
Abstract Number: 519 Working Group: Indoor Aerosols
Abstract The International Space Station (ISS) gives a 6-member astronaut crew the ability to live and work in low earth orbit. It is a unique indoor environment which has served as both home and workplace to over 200 people in 53 increments since the year 2000. In its existence, virtually the same volume of air has been conditioned and ‘revitalized,’ including the removal of particles by filtration. While gaseous constituents of ISS air are monitored meticulously, sparse data exists on indoor aerosols. The quantity and types of airborne debris have recently been investigated in the Aerosol Sampling Experiment funded by NASA’s Life Support Systems Program. Sampling began in late November 2016, continued through January 2017 and samples were returned to Earth in March 2017. Both active and passive samplers were placed in U.S. segments of the ISS, including the Lab where experiments take place, Node 1 where meals are enjoyed, Node 2 where cargo vehicles dock and are unpacked, Node 3 where exercising and crew hygiene takes place, as well as in a storage area. The custom-designed Passive Samplers were placed over vents and filters in the path of incoming dirty air and collected larger particles, whereas the Active Samplers were specially adapted TPS100 Personal Nanoparticle Samplers from RJ Lee Group which collected smaller particles by thermophoresis. Fibers, biological and metal particles were observed in the initial evaluation, with fibers predominant on Passive Samplers as expected. An overview of the results will be presented along with actions taken within NASA’s Life Support community as a result of the new data.