Electrothermal Vaporization Sample Introduction for Spaceflight Water Quality Monitoring via Gas Chromatography-Differential Mobility Spectrometry.

In the history of manned spaceflight, environmental monitoring has relied heavily on archival sampling. However, with the construction of the International Space Station (ISS) and the subsequent extension in mission duration up to one year, an enhanced, real-time method for environmental monitoring is necessary. The station air is currently monitored for trace volatile organic compounds (VOCs) using gas chromatography-differential mobility spectrometry (GC-DMS) via the Air Quality Monitor (AQM), while water is analyzed to measure total organic carbon and biocide concentrations using the Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) and the Colorimetric Water Quality Monitoring Kit (CWQMK), respectively. As mission scenarios extend beyond low Earth orbit, a convergence in analytical instrumentation to analyze both air and water samples is highly desirable. Since the AQM currently provides quantitative, compound-specific information for air samples and many of the targets in air are also common to water, this platfo...