Subsurface Access & Sampling
Sniffer
Product Features
The Sniffer is a sampling drill and in-situ gas analyzing system developed for NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The Sniffer is designed to drill up to 30 cm below the surface and analyze vapor emitted by heated sample cuttings.
Once the drill reaches its desired depth, a small door near the drill bit opens to collect sample cuttings. Once enough material has been collected, the door is closed and the sample is heated by a semi-permeable ceramic heater until vapor is released. The vapor travels through a tube embedded in the non-rotating drill stem to a mass spectrometer on the drill base where analyses are performed.
This system may be used for planetary exploration missions, particularly for autonomously analyzing Mars, Venus, and comet surface composition and characteristics. The mass of the entire system, when optimized, is expected to be approximately 750 grams.