Non-contact detection apparatus and method for escaped volatile material during a mars sample return drilling process

Abstract

The application discloses a non-contact detection device and method for escaped volatile substances in a Mars sample drilling process, which is used for accompanying detection of sampling gas in a fixed range of a drilling mechanism in the drilling process, and comprises a gas processing unit, a gas detection unit, a vacuum unit and an electric control unit. The gas processing unit comprises a sampling pipeline for inhaling the sampling gas and transmitting the sampling gas to the gas detection unit, and intermittent on-off valves and adsorption materials are arranged on the sampling pipeline. The adsorption materials are used for adsorbing non-detection task gas. The gas detection unit is used for detecting escaped volatile substances in the sampling gas. The vacuum unit is communicated with the gas detection unit and is used for removing the gas entering the gas detection unit. The electric control unit is used for power supply and logic control of the gas processing unit, the gas detection unit and the vacuum unit. The application has the characteristics of miniaturization, rapidness and high sensitivity, and can obtain content changes of volatile substances such as water and methane adsorbed by soil at different depths in a sampling area.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of deep space exploration, in particular to a non-contact detection device and method for escaped volatile substances in a Mars sample drilling process. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the continuous development of deep space exploration technology, the Mars sample return mission has become an important direction for future planetary scientific exploration. The surface of Mars and its shallow soil may contain water ice, adsorbed water, methane and other organic volatile substances, which are of key significance to the study of the geological evolution, climate change and potential habitability and life signs of Mars. Therefore, real-time and accurate detection of escaped volatile substances in the Mars sample during the drilling process is an important link to obtain true in-situ scientific data.

[0003] Currently, the international exploration of Mars soil mainly relies on in-situ analysis methods, and a complete sample return mission has not yet been realized. In typical exploration missions, the technology route of heating extraction combined with mass spectrometry or spectroscopy analysis is often used. For example, the Thermal and Evolved Gas Analyzer (TEGA) carried by the Phoenix lander releases volatile gases by heating soil samples and analyzes their composition and isotopic composition using mass spectrometry technology; the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) carried by the Curiosity rover integrates a mass spectrometer (MS), a gas chromatograph (GC) and a tunable laser spectrometer (TLS), which can detect organic molecules and light elements with high sensitivity, aiming to find chemical signals related to life.

[0004] In addition, in the lunar polar exploration mission VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover) being developed by NASA, a small-sized MSolo is used to study whether the lunar soil may be contaminated and the gases released during drilling to evaluate the content of ice and other volatile components. Msolo carries a high-precision mass spectrometer based on electron source ionization technology to measure volatile gases and contaminants.

[0005] However, the above existing technologies have obvious limitations when applied to in-situ detection of escaped volatile substances in the Mars sample drilling process:

[0006] Traditional methods usually require the sample to be collected and sent into a closed chamber for heating to release the gas, and the detection process takes a long time, which cannot realize the rapid response and dynamic tracking of the instantaneous escaped gas during the drilling process; and the system is complex, high in power consumption, large in volume and weight, which is not conducive to deployment on resource-limited deep space exploration platforms, especially not suitable for integrated companion detection near the drilling mechanism.

[0007] During the drilling process, the volatiles released from the disturbed subsurface soil directly escape into the drill cavity or the surrounding space. At the same time, since the drill sample is not spread on the surface, neither the remote sensing load carried on the orbiter nor the spectrum carried on the lander can measure the trace volatile substances in the drilled subsurface soil.

[0008] Information loss risk during sample return process: Even if sample return is achieved, adsorbed water, methane and other volatile components are extremely easy to lose during transportation, resulting in that the analysis results in the earth laboratory cannot reflect the real state on Mars in situ, and therefore it is urgent to identify and quantify the key volatiles on the drilling site.

[0009] Therefore, how to provide an equipment and method capable of non-contact, rapid and high-sensitivity in-situ detection of escaped volatile substances during the dynamic process of Mars sample drilling is a problem to be solved by those skilled in the art. SUMMARY

[0010] Therefore, the present application provides a non-contact detection equipment and method for escaped volatile substances in the process of Mars sample drilling, which has the characteristics of miniaturization, rapidness and high sensitivity, and is more convenient to carry on the Mars exploration mission. The mass spectrometry non-contact measurement method is used to monitor the content change of volatile substances in the drilling process, which can obtain the content change of water and methane and other volatile substances adsorbed by the soil at different depths in the sampling area, thereby supplementing the sample information and obtaining important data for studying the habitability of Mars.

[0011] In order to achieve the above purpose, the present application adopts the following technical solutions:

[0012] The present application first proposes a non-contact detection equipment for escaped volatile substances in the process of Mars sample drilling, which detects the sampling gas in the fixed range of the drilling mechanism during the drilling process, including a gas processing unit, a gas detection unit, a vacuum unit and an electric control unit.

[0013] The gas processing unit includes a sampling pipeline for inhaling the sampling gas and conveying it to the gas detection unit, and an intermittent on-off valve and an adsorption material are arranged on the sampling pipeline along the gas conveying path; the adsorption material is used to adsorb non-detection task gas;

[0014] The gas detection unit is used to detect the escaped volatile substances in the sampling gas;

[0015] The vacuum unit is connected to the gas detection unit and is used to remove the gas entering the gas detection unit;

[0016] The electric control unit is used to control the power supply and logic of the gas processing unit, the gas detection unit and the vacuum unit.

[0017] Preferably, the front end of the sampling pipeline is arranged on the exhaust area or gas escape path of the drilling mechanism to capture the volatile gas released from the Martian soil during the drilling process.

[0018] Preferably, the adsorption material is used for adsorbing CO2.

[0019] Preferably, a flow limiting hole is further arranged on the sampling pipeline at the rear end of the adsorption material, and the aperture of the flow limiting hole is smaller than the inner diameter of the sampling pipeline.

[0020] Preferably, the gas detection unit is an ion trap mass spectrometer sensor.

[0021] Preferably, the vacuum unit comprises an ion pump for ionizing the gas entering the gas detection unit and fixing the ionized gas on the surface of a metal material by ion injection.

[0022] Preferably, a heating unit is further included for actively heating the gas treatment unit.

[0023] The present application further provides a non-contact detection method of escaped volatile substances in a Mars sample drilling process, which is used in the non-contact detection equipment of escaped volatile substances in a Mars sample drilling process.

[0024] S1: During the operation of the drilling mechanism, the sampling pipeline intermittently inhales the sampling gas in the fixed range of the drilling mechanism by controlling the intermittent on-off valve, and the adsorption material in the sampling pipeline adsorbs the non-detection task gas.

[0025] S2: The sampling gas passing through the adsorption material is sent to the gas detection unit, and the escaped volatile substances in the sampling gas are detected in a vacuum environment.

[0026] S3: After the gas detection task is completed, the sampling gas entering the gas detection unit is removed by suction, and the operation is ended or returned to S1 to perform the next cycle of gas detection task.

[0027] According to the above technical solution, compared with the prior art, the present application provides a non-contact detection equipment and method of escaped volatile substances in a Mars sample drilling process, which has the following significant technical advantages and positive effects compared with the traditional heating extraction-mass spectrometry technology in the existing deep space exploration:

[0028] The present application breaks through the strong hysteresis and slow response of the traditional method by setting a sampling pipeline near the drilling mechanism to non-contact capture of volatile gases (such as water, methane, etc.) instantaneously released from the subsurface soil during drilling, without the need to send the sample into a closed cavity for heating treatment, realizing in-situ, continuous and dynamic monitoring of the release behavior of volatile substances in different depth formations, with fast detection speed, short response time and meeting the demand for rapid feedback during drilling.

[0029] The present application selectively removes background CO2 by using specific adsorption materials, with removal efficiency reaching more than 90%, so that the relative concentration of target volatile substances in the remaining gas is increased by an order of magnitude, effectively reducing background interference. Combined with the selective enrichment ability of ion trap mass spectrometer for low mass number ions, the signal-to-noise ratio and sensitivity of detection are further improved, realizing high-sensitivity identification and quantitative analysis of trace volatile substances.

[0030] The sampling method of the present application does not rely on physical transfer or sealed heating of the sample, the front end of the sampling pipeline is only placed near the gas release area of the drill hole, without direct contact with the drilling tool or soil, belonging to passive and non-invasive detection, which will not affect the normal working process of the drilling mechanism, realizing synchronous detection of released volatile substances during Mars sampling, reaching the international leading level. Moreover, the measurement technology belongs to passive measurement, with low engineering cost, suitable for automatic and continuous drilling and sampling tasks, high engineering integration and strong reliability.

[0031] The present application uses an ion pump as a vacuum maintenance unit to automatically remove residual gas after each measurement, ensuring that the next detection is not affected by cross contamination, and ensuring data accuracy and repeatability. At the same time, the ion pump and high-efficiency adsorption material are used, with compact overall structure, light weight and low power consumption, meeting the stringent requirements of Mars rover, lander and other resource-limited platforms for scientific load, and being more easily carried on future Mars sampling and return missions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0032] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments or prior art description will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor on the basis of the provided drawings.

[0033] Figure 1 The structural principle diagram of the Mars sample drilling process escape volatile material non-contact detection equipment provided by the present application is shown in the figure.

[0034] Figure 2 The structural principle diagram of the ion trap mass spectrometer sensor provided by the present application is shown in the figure.

[0035] Figure 3 The flow chart of the non-contact detection method for escaped volatile substances in the Mars sample drilling process provided by the present application is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative work fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0037] The first aspect of the embodiments of the present application discloses a non-contact detection device for escaped volatile substances in a Mars sample drilling process, as shown in the drawing. Figure 1 The device performs accompanying detection on the sampling gas in the fixed range of the drilling mechanism during the drilling process, and includes a gas processing unit, a gas detection unit, a vacuum unit and an electric control unit.

[0038] The gas processing unit has stable air inlet and gas adsorption functions, and includes a sampling pipeline for inhaling the sampling gas and transmitting it to the gas detection unit. An intermittent on-off valve and an adsorption material are sequentially arranged on the sampling pipeline along the gas transmission path. The intermittent on-off valve can inhale the gas near the sampling mechanism, and the adsorption material is used for adsorbing non-detection task gas.

[0039] The gas detection unit is used for detecting the escaped volatile substances in the sampling gas.

[0040] The vacuum unit is connected to the gas detection unit and is used for removing the gas entering the gas detection unit.

[0041] The electric control unit is used for power supply and logic control of the gas processing unit, the gas detection unit and the vacuum unit.

[0042] It should be noted that the atmospheric pressure on the surface of Mars is much higher than the working pressure of the gas detection unit. The internal vacuum of the gas detection unit needs to be ensured, and the residual gas needs to be removed after each measurement to avoid affecting the next measurement. The vacuum unit is used to remove the residual gas and maintain the vacuum environment in the gas detection unit.

[0043] In one embodiment, the front end of the sampling pipeline is arranged on the exhaust area or gas escape path of the drilling mechanism, and is used for capturing the volatile gas released from the Martian soil during the drilling process.

[0044] The front end of the sampling pipeline should be as close as possible to the drilling mechanism and the pipeline should be as short as possible, which helps to improve the concentration of volatile components entering the pipeline.

[0045] In this embodiment, the intermittent switch valve is a self-locking valve that can be intermittently opened, so that the background atmosphere and volatile components enter the gas treatment chamber containing the adsorbent material.

[0046] In one embodiment, the adsorbent material is used to adsorb CO2. The relative content of water and methane released by drilling is very low, and the atmospheric pressure on the surface of Mars is about 700 Pa. It is necessary to exclude the interference of the Martian atmosphere, enrich the trace amount of water and methane that may be produced by drilling, and improve the detection sensitivity. Therefore, the main component CO2 in the atmosphere of Mars is adsorbed by the getter to increase the concentration of water and methane.

[0047] Carbon dioxide reacts with the adsorbent material to convert from a gaseous state to a solid state, thereby removing it from the sample. The reaction of the adsorbent material with carbon dioxide should be fast and specific, and should not interfere with the detection of other gases, especially water.

[0048] In one embodiment, a flow limiting hole is further arranged at the rear end of the adsorbent material on the sampling pipeline, and the aperture of the flow limiting hole is smaller than the inner diameter of the sampling pipeline. The remaining gas slowly enters the gas detection unit through the flow limiting hole.

[0049] In one embodiment, the gas detection unit is an ion trap mass spectrometer sensor, which is used to measure the composition and content of the gas and has the advantages of small size and high sensitivity. The sensor mainly includes three components: an ion source, a mass analyzer, and a detector. Figure 2 A structural diagram of an ion trap mass spectrometer sensor.

[0050] The working principle of the ion trap mass spectrometer sensor includes: first, ionize the gas molecules with the ion source to convert them into charged ions of different mass-to-charge ratios; the ions are separated in the ion trap mass analyzer due to different mass-to-charge ratios, and the chemical composition is inferred by analyzing the mass of the ions; finally, the detector detects the number of ions to obtain the content of various gases.

[0051] In one embodiment, the ion trap mass spectrometer sensor needs to work in a vacuum environment of 10 -2 Pa or below, so the device is equipped with a vacuum unit. The vacuum pump can remove the gas entering the detection unit to maintain the required vacuum environment of the sensor. However, the traditional vacuum pump is large in weight and volume. The vacuum unit of the present embodiment includes an ion pump, which realizes the miniaturization of the vacuum unit, and is used to ionize the residual gas entering the gas detection unit and then fix it on the surface of a metal material by ion injection, thereby removing it from the mass spectrometer.

[0052] In one embodiment, a heating unit is further included for active thermal control of the gas treatment unit to prevent water from condensing during transportation.

[0053] In one embodiment, the electric control unit is divided into a power supply and distribution module and a master control module, and the main functions are as follows:

[0054] The power supply and distribution module automatically controls the opening and closing of the valve.

[0055] The power supply and distribution module provides the power required for sensor operation and logic control according to the control instructions of the master control module, including the filament power and bias voltage required by the ion source, the radio frequency voltage required by the mass analyzer, and the high voltage required by the electron multiplier.

[0056] The master control module collects temperature in the system, current and voltage in the sensor, and voltage of the circuit board, outputs switching signals, frequency signals, and pulse signals, etc., forms a work parameter data package and sends it.

[0057] The master control module counts and accumulates the pulses output by the electron multiplier, forms a scientific data package and sends it.

[0058] The master control module receives instructions and platform information from the host computer in the system.

[0059] The second aspect of the embodiment of the application also discloses a non-contact detection method of escaped volatile substances in a Mars sample drilling process, which is used for the equipment according to the first aspect of the embodiment, and the method comprises the following steps: Figure 3 As shown in the figure, the method comprises the following steps:

[0060] S1: In the working process of the drilling mechanism, the sampling pipeline intermittently inhales the sampling gas in the fixed range of the drilling mechanism by controlling the intermittent opening and closing of the valve, and the adsorption material in the sampling pipeline adsorbs the non-detection task gas;

[0061] S2: The sampling gas passing through the adsorption material is sent into the gas detection unit, and the escaped volatile substances in the sampling gas are detected in a vacuum environment;

[0062] S3: After the gas detection task is completed, the sampling gas entering the gas detection unit is removed, and the operation is ended or returned to S1 to execute the next cycle of gas detection task.

[0063] The embodiments in the specification are described in a progressive manner, and each embodiment focuses on the difference from other embodiments, and the same or similar parts of each embodiment can be referred to each other. For the device disclosed in the embodiment, since it corresponds to the method disclosed in the embodiment, the description is relatively simple, and the related parts can be referred to the method part.

[0064] The foregoing description of the disclosed embodiments enables a person skilled in the art to make or use the application. Modifications of these embodiments will occur to persons of skill in the art, and that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications that do not depart from the true spirit and scope of the application. Therefore, the application is not limited to the embodiments shown but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A non-contact detection device for volatile substances escaping during the drilling and extraction process of Mars samples, characterized in that, The application discloses a device for detecting sampling gas in a fixed range of a drilling mechanism during a drilling process. The gas processing unit comprises a sampling pipeline for inhaling the sampling gas and transmitting the sampling gas to the gas detection unit, and an intermittent on-off valve and an adsorption material are sequentially arranged on the sampling pipeline along a gas transmission path; the adsorption material is used for adsorbing non-detection task gas CO2; a front end of the sampling pipeline is arranged on an exhaust area or a gas escape path of the drilling mechanism; a flow limiting hole is further arranged on the sampling pipeline and located at a rear end of the adsorption material, and a hole diameter of the flow limiting hole is smaller than an inner diameter of the sampling pipeline; The gas detection unit is used for detecting escaped volatile substances in the sampling gas; and the gas detection unit is an ion trap mass spectrometer sensor; The vacuum unit is connected with the gas detection unit and is used for removing the gas entering the gas detection unit; the vacuum unit comprises an ion pump, which is used for ionizing the gas entering the gas detection unit and fixing the ionized gas on a metal material surface through ion injection; The electric control unit is used for performing power supply and logic control on the gas processing unit, the gas detection unit and the vacuum unit; The heating unit is used for actively controlling the gas processing unit.

2. A method of non-contact detection of Mars sample drilling process-escaped volatile material of a Mars sample drilling process-escaped volatile material non-contact detection apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by, The device comprises the following steps: S1: during the working process of the drilling mechanism, the intermittent on-off valve is controlled, the sampling pipeline is used for intermittently inhaling the sampling gas in the fixed range of the drilling mechanism, and the adsorption material in the sampling pipeline is used for adsorbing non-detection task gas; S2: the sampling gas passing through the adsorption material is sent to the gas detection unit, and escaped volatile substances in the sampling gas are detected in a vacuum environment; S3: after the gas detection task is completed, the sampling gas entering the gas detection unit is removed, and the operation is ended or returned to S1 to perform a next period of gas detection task.

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