WASHINGTON - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced the agency is seeking an industry partner as it looks to develop technical objectives, design, development, and testing of a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) flow inlet capable of thermalizing high kinetic temperature molecular flux prior to sense crystal deposition.
This solicitation is in response to the Maturation of Instruments for Solar System Exploration (MatISSE) Program solicitation, released in February 2024 as part of the NASA Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES).
This partnership opportunity focuses on providing QCM inlet flow modeling in the high kinetic temperature free molecular flow regime, inlet designs and fabricated components, and vacuum chamber tests using high-temperature gases necessary to implement and demonstrate a thermalizing effect that permits mass deposition on the QCM sense crystal. A successful inlet configuration will enable the direct calculation of external molecular flux in a given kinetic temperature regime following a QCM measurement behind the thermalizing inlet.
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The goal of this effort is to offer a novel, reliable, low-mass, cost-effective method for retrieving molecular abundances in the free molecular flow regime during a high-speed planetary fly-by that is non-destructive to the target molecules. A configuration that preserves QCM thermogravimetric analysis capabilities is also desired. NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) is seeking partners who can provide commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) QCM sensors. NASA LaRC is also seeking partners who have expertise in introducing high-temperature rarefied gases into vacuum test chambers.
NASA LaRC is seeking potential partners specializing in designing and building space flight-rated QCMs including Cryogenic QCMs (CQCMs) and Thermoelectric QCMs (TQCMs). Such a partner shall offer the following:
Manufacture and delivery of COTS QCMs, CQCMs, and/or TQCMs as procured by NASA LaRC and as needed under this MatISSE project during Project Years 1 and 2 with the delivery of procured sensors by the start of Project Year 3.
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Any delivered sensors shall include an End Item Data Package (EIDP) with relevant drawings, specifications, calibrations, and vendor test reporting. Vendor testing shall be sufficient to calibrate and characterize the sensors (crystal matching curves, etc.) and demonstrate reliability.
Consultation from selected partner's subject matter experts (SMEs) for NASA LaRC scientists, project managers, and engineers during the MatISSE proposal drafting process and following a MatISSE award to aid in understanding sensor behavior for the proposed use case and in the development of the experimental design and setup that will be conducted during Project Year 3. Consultations shall be provided, for example, through virtual meetings or e-mails at a frequency that will not overly burden the selected partner, such as, at most weekly or semiweekly consultations during periods of greatest need, as agreed upon by the selected partner.
All responses must be submitted to NASA LaRC via e-mail by 6:00 p.m. EDT on 28 May 2024 to [email protected]. Procurement questions should be directed to [email protected]. More information is available at https://sam.gov/opp/74248edf2de24ee8a0aa5bca766fb734/view.
