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Preparations for Subsequent Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

Astronaut Kayla Barron appears to be like at chile peppers rising within the Superior Plant Habitat aboard the Worldwide Area Station. Figuring out the perfect methods to water vegetation in house resulted within the growth of a brand new electrostatic spray nozzle, now licensed to business.
Credit score: NASA

Whether or not defending crops from illnesses and pests or sanitizing contaminated surfaces, the power to spray protecting chemical substances over essential sources is vital to a number of industries. Electrostatic Spraying Techniques Inc. (ESS) of Watkinsville, Georgia, manufactures electrostatic sprayers and gear that make this doable. By licensing NASA electrostatic know-how, initially made to water vegetation in house, ESS’s improved spray nozzles effectively use fundamental legal guidelines of electrical energy to attain full protection on focused surfaces. 

ESS traces its origins to analysis accomplished on the College of Georgia within the Seventies and ’80s. An electrostatic sprayer works by inducing an electrical cost onto atomized droplets. Very like an inflated balloon sticking to a wall when it’s gained a cost of static electrical energy, the droplets then stick with focused surfaces.

NASA’s curiosity on this know-how originated with astronauts’ want for a straightforward method to assist plant-growth experiments in house. On the Worldwide Area Station, watering vegetation with out the assistance of gravity isn’t as straightforward as utilizing a backyard hose on Earth. Sooner or later, utilizing a system like an electrostatic sprayer on the house station or different orbiting vacation spot may assist the water droplets stick with the vegetation with uniform protection. Nevertheless, most spraying methods require massive sources of water and air to correctly aerosolize fluids.

An ESS mister nozzle
An ESS mister nozzle undergoes testing at Kennedy Area Heart. The design was improved by collaboration between the corporate and NASA.
Credit score: NASA

As each air and water are treasured sources in house, NASA wanted a better method to make these extremely small droplets. Charles Buhler and Jerry Wang of NASA’s Kennedy Area Heart in Florida led the efforts to develop this functionality, with Edward Regulation of the College of Georgia as a consulting knowledgeable. Ultimately, the NASA workforce developed a brand new design by studying from current know-how referred to as a mister nozzle. The advantage of a mister is that despite the fact that the inside quantity of the nozzle is small, the stress inside by no means builds up, which makes it good for enclosed small areas just like the house station.

Because the sprayer business is a tight-knit group, know-how switch professionals at NASA reached out to the businesses that might use a nozzle like this on Earth. Electrostatic Spraying Techniques responded and later licensed the sprayer design from the company and integrated it into the corporate’s Maxcharge product strains.

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Oct 07, 2024

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