In the summer of 2012, I had the opportunity to conduct research at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the Planetary Science Group on the development of capillary sampling techniques for laser spectroscopy.

 

The largest visible reservoirs of Martian water are layered water-ice deposits in the North and South poles. Examining the isotopic composition of the polar ice caps could provide clues about past climate cycles and help trace the history of Martian water over the past million years. Tunable laser spectroscopy is a technique that is used to measure isotopic variations in water.  However, a technique of introducing water into the laser spectroscopy analysis region without corrupting the isotopic content of the sample is required. 

 

In this project, I worked designing and testing a capillary injection system to support such laser spectroscopy measurements.  The system uses a bundle of capillary tubes to inject water into a vacuum chamber at a slow pace, therefore maintaining the chamber at a steady pressure. I also developed a DAQ interface program using LabWindows to control the pressure transducer regulating the pressure in the vacuum chamber.