NASA: Carbon Nanostructures Can Detect Precursor Chemicals Used by Terrorists

Certain selected chemicals associated with terrorist activities are too unstable to be prepared in a final form. These selected chemicals are often prepared as precursor components, to be combined at a time immediately preceding a time of application of the selected chemical. An example is a liquid explosive, which usually requires provision of an oxidizer, an energy source and a chemical or physical mechanism to combine the other components at a time immediately preceding detonation. Detection of presence of the oxidizer (e.g., H.sub.2O.sub.2) or the energy source (e.g., nitromethane) is often possible but must be performed in a short time interval (e.g., 5-15 sec) and in an environment with a very small concentration (e.g., 1-100 ppm), because the target chemical(s) is present in a sealed container.

What is needed is a system that allows detection of presence of a target oxidizer and/or a target energizer in small concentrations (as small as 1 ppm) in a relatively small time interval, preferably no more than about 5-15 sec. Preferably, the system should allow detection of at least one oxidizer and of at least one energizer, substantially simultaneously, should operate with a relatively small "footprint" in a real life environment, and should operate with only a small energy expenditure.

These needs are met by NASA scientists Jing Li, Meyya Meyyappan,  and Yijiang Lu’s invention of a system and associated method for detecting one or more chemical precursors (components) of a multi-component compound that may become unstable when fully assembled or combined. First and second carbon nanostructures ("CNSs") are loaded (by doping, impregnation, coating or other functionalization process) with different first and second chemical substances that react with first and second chemical precursors, respectively, which may be the same or may be different, if these precursors are present in a gas to which the CNSs are exposed. After exposure to the gas, a measured electrical parameter value (EPV) (e.g., impedance, conductivity, capacitance, inductance, etc.) changes with time in a predictable manner, if a selected chemical precursor is present, and will approach an asymptotic value promptly after exposure to the precursor.  The system is detailed in U.S. Patent 7,623,972.

The measured EPVs are compared with one or more sequences of reference EPVs for one or more known target precursor molecules, and a most probable concentration value is estimated for each of one, two or more target molecules. An error value is computed, based on differences for the measured and reference EPVs using the most probable concentration values. Where the error value is less than an error value threshold, the system concludes that the target molecule is likely. Presence of one, two or more target molecules in the gas can be sensed from a single set of measurement.

The system can test for presence of one of different target molecules substantially simultaneously. One advantage of the invention is its flexibility: the presence of any reasonable number of target molecules can be tested for with a single set of EPV measurements. 

Lockheed Martin Tests Carbon Nanotube-Based Memory Devices on NASA Shuttle Mission

A radiation-resistant version of NRAM(TM) carbon-nanotube-based memory, developed jointly by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) and Nantero, was tested on a recent Space Shuttle mission. The NRAM(TM) was incorporated by NASA into special autonomous testing configurations installed into a carrier at the aft end of the payload bay. It was launched into space as part of STS-125, the May 2009 mission of the Space Shuttle Atlantis that successfully serviced the Hubble Space Telescope. The project was managed by Dan Powell, Chief Nanotechnologist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC).

"Lockheed Martin is a leader in the research, development and application of nanotechnology to future government applications," said Dr. Jim Ryder, vice president and general manager of the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center in Palo Alto. "This demonstration of carbon-nanotube-based semiconductor devices in the rigorous conditions of space is an important step towards a whole new suite of future applications."

The experiment was a proof-of-concept that enabled the testing of launch and re-entry survivability, as well as basic functionality of the carbon nanotube switches on orbit throughout the shuttle mission. The NRAM(TM) devices were early prototype parts, and performed the same before, during, and after completion of the mission. This mission represents an important first step in the development of high-density, non-volatile, carbon-nanotube-based memories for spaceflight applications. Lockheed Martin and NASA are working on plans for future NRAM(TM) flights.

Carbon nanotubes are tiny cylindrical carbon molecules just 1/50,000th the diameter of a human hair that possess unique electrical and structural properties. The word nanotube is, of course, from nanometer (10-9 meters or approximately 10 carbon atoms) and tubular (the shape of a rolled up sheet of graphene that forms a carbon nanotube). Carbon nanotubes are half the density of aluminum, 50 times stronger than steel, thermally stable in vacuum up to nearly 3,000 degrees Centigrade, efficient conductors of heat and may be either metallic or direct bandgap semiconductors.

Thomas Rueckes, Nantero's Co-founder and CTO, said, "We are proud of the success of our NRAM memory devices in even the harshest of conditions, and honored for being selected by NASA for this mission."

Dan Powell of GSFC, said "Carbon nanotubes have tremendous potential for a wide range of future space-based applications, and we couldn't be happier for the success of this experiment."

Lockheed Martin recognizes the critical importance of nanotechnology to its current and future portfolio of products and services. Direct benefits of nanotechnology for government customers could include stronger, lighter and less expensive materials; more capable systems; and enhanced personal protection for military and first responders. Through partnerships with small businesses and universities, Lockheed Martin is leveraging its own investment in nanotechnology to develop innovative solutions for the most demanding technological challenges. Lockheed Martin Nanosystems is a business unit of Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company.

Nantero is a nanotechnology company using carbon nanotubes for the development of next-generation semiconductor devices. Nantero's main focus is the development of NRAM(TM). Nantero is also working with licensees on the development of additional applications of Nantero's core nanotube-based technology. Lockheed Martin holds an exclusive license arrangement with Nantero for government applications of Nantero's extensive intellectual property portfolio. More information on Nantero, Inc. is available in English and Japanese at http://www.nantero.com.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2008 sales of $42.7 billion.

NASA Finds Water on the Moon, Nanotechnology Along for the Measurements

 
Preliminary data from NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, indicates the mission successfully uncovered water in a permanently shadowed lunar crater. The discovery opens a new chapter in our understanding of the moon.

The LCROSS spacecraft and a companion rocket stage made twin impacts in the Cabeus crater Oct. 9 that created a plume of material from the bottom of a crater that has not seen sunlight in billions of years. The plume traveled at a high angle beyond the rim of Cabeus and into sunlight, while an additional curtain of debris was ejected more laterally.

"We're unlocking the mysteries of our nearest neighbor and, by extension, the solar system," said Michael Wargo, chief lunar scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The moon harbors many secrets, and LCROSS has added a new layer to our understanding."

Scientists long have speculated about the source of significant quantities of hydrogen that have been observed at the lunar poles. The LCROSS findings are shedding new light on the question with the discovery of water, which could be more widespread and in greater quantity than previously suspected. If the water that was formed or deposited is billions of years old, these polar cold traps could hold a key to the history and evolution of the solar system, much as an ice core sample taken on Earth reveals ancient data. In addition, water and other compounds represent potential resources that could sustain future lunar exploration.

Since the impacts, the LCROSS science team has been analyzing the huge amount of data the spacecraft collected. The team concentrated on data from the satellite's spectrometers, which provide the most definitive information about the presence of water. A spectrometer helps identify the composition of materials by examining light they emit or absorb.

"We are ecstatic," said Anthony Colaprete, LCROSS project scientist and principal investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "Multiple lines of evidence show water was present in both the high angle vapor plume and the ejecta curtain created by the LCROSS Centaur impact. The concentration and distribution of water and other substances requires further analysis, but it is safe to say Cabeus holds water."

The team took the known near-infrared spectral signatures of water and other materials and compared them to the impact spectra the LCROSS near infrared spectrometer collected.

"We were able to match the spectra from LCROSS data only when we inserted the spectra for water," Colaprete said. "No other reasonable combination of other compounds that we tried matched the observations. The possibility of contamination from the Centaur also was ruled out."

Additional confirmation came from an emission in the ultraviolet spectrum that was attributed to hydroxyl, one product from the break-up of water by sunlight. When atoms and molecules are excited, they release energy at specific wavelengths that can be detected by the spectrometers. A similar process is used in neon signs. When electrified, a specific gas will produce a distinct color. Just after impact, the LCROSS ultraviolet visible spectrometer detected hydroxyl signatures that are consistent with a water vapor cloud in sunlight.

Data from the other LCROSS instruments are being analyzed for additional clues about the state and distribution of the material at the impact site. The LCROSS science team and colleagues are poring over the data to understand the entire impact event, from flash to crater. The goal is to understand the distribution of all materials within the soil at the impact site.

"The full understanding of the LCROSS data may take some time. The data is that rich," Colaprete said. "Along with the water in Cabeus, there are hints of other intriguing substances. The permanently shadowed regions of the moon are truly cold traps, collecting and preserving material over billions of years."

LCROSS was launched June 18 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida as a companion mission to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO. Moving at a speed of more than 1.5 miles per second, the spent upper stage of its launch vehicle hit the lunar surface shortly after 4:31 a.m. PDT Oct. 9, creating an impact that instruments aboard LCROSS observed for approximately four minutes. LCROSS then impacted the surface at approximately 4:36 a.m.

LRO observed the impact and continues to pass over the site to give the LCROSS team additional insight into the mechanics of the impact and its resulting craters. The LCROSS science team is working closely with scientists from LRO and other observatories that viewed the impact to analyze and understand the full scope of the LCROSS data.