![]() For example, the agency prohibits anything from launching into space that contains more than 20ppm of carbon monoxide, or more than 5000ppm of carbon dioxide. This breaks the chemicals apart to produce a spectra that can help identify and quantify the chemicals present – important because of Nasa restrictions. Almost everything is checked, down to the toxicity of shaving creams and gels used by the astronauts.Īldrich’s team uses a flame ionisation detector to calculate analytes in the gas stream, and then shoot the gasses through another gas chromatograph that has a mass-selective detector. Smell of successĪll of this volunteer work is separate from Aldrich’s official role, which is to conduct toxicity testing on objects before they go into space. Once these odour tests are completed, the nurse returns three hours later to recheck the participants’ noses and throats to determine whether the material caused adverse effects. Or, they might try flying something else that might be less toxic.’ ‘We report back to the customer that it is slightly over the threshold for odour, but if it is very important for that object to fly, it might fly anyway. Any material that scores over 2.5 fails the odour test. Each of the panel members then rates the smell on a scale of zero (undetectable) to four (revolting). ‘We just come in, one at a time, and we are subjected to the gas of that material three times,’ Aldrich says. George Aldrich has participated in more than 900 odour tests First, a nurse inspects their noses and throats to ensure that they don’t have a pre-existing condition that could cause them harm or affect the test, like a raw throat or bloody nose. Next, the agency selects five people from its odour panel to smell the samples. To prepare for odour testing, Nasa places the material that it intends to launch in a glass desiccator and heats it to around 49☌ for 72 hours, then lets it cool. If you subject to an odour, they are not going to be able to tell you what it smells like And while electronic noses can identify specified chemicals, they can’t report something leaving a bad aftertaste in the back of their throats, or blistering the inside of their noses, he adds. ‘If you subject to an odour, they are not going to be able to tell you what it smells like,’ Aldrich says. Nasa uses humans to do this odour testing – as opposed to relying on dogs or so-called ‘electronic noses’ – because they are the best predictor of how something will impact an astronaut. In the 1970s, the Russians had to abort a space mission shortly after lift-off because of a bad odour inside the space capsule Nasa doesn’t take any chances. ![]() ![]() As astronauts are in a ‘closed loop’ environment where air is recirculated, the delicately-balanced environment could be upset by a smell that is toxic or overwhelming: in space, you can’t just open a window. The idea saw Aldrich move to Nasa’s molecular desorption and analysis lab at White Sands, which assesses potentially hazardous materials, components and systems. ![]() ‘He told me about it, since I was young and healthy, and said it was a great thing to do for the astronauts,’ Aldrich adds. He immediately quit his job to take one of these provisional posts, before becoming a fireman guard for the site. It was his fire chief, who belonged to Nasa’s first odour panel, that got Aldrich into the smelling business at the tender age of 18. ‘My dad worked out here, and he called me and said they were looking for five temporary hires,’ Aldrich recalls. It’s a role that’s earned him nicknames ranging from ‘Nasa’s Chief Sniffer’ to ‘Nostrildamus’.Īldrich is not a chemist and never attended university – he joined Nasa’s White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico in 1973, straight after graduating from high school. After 45 years on the panel, Aldrich’s nostrils have completed more than 900 odour tests for the agency (his closest rival has only reached the 600s). The mainstay of this group is George Aldrich. Nasa has a volunteer panel of 25 people whose job is to smell items before they are sent into space. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |