Mars Spacecraft Technology Will Help Detect Toxic Waste

Engineers at Martin Marietta Corp. have taken technology used in the company’s two Mars-probing Viking spacecraft to help solve a down-to-Earth problem: detecting hazardous wastes in soil and water.

The development of a portable hazardous waste analyzer that allows preliminary soil and water analysis to be conducted in the field is part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s technology transfer program that seeks earthly uses for space-related developments.

The new machine, which is small enough to be carried by one person, can detect about 50 different elements in virtually any type of soil or material, according to Benton Clark, an engineer at Martin’s Astronautics Group near Denver and the program manager of the Viking soil analyzer.

The prototype unit has been delivered to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory at Las Vegas. The EPA plans to evaluate and field test the analyzer, then make it available to EPA regional offices across the country.

The analyzer consists of a detector unit, an X-ray source, a laptop computer, and a filtration system, Clark said. The instrument bombards the soil with X-rays, causing a fluorescent emission. The emission is measured and analyzed for the energy levels that distinguish each element.

Another Martin spokeswoman said the chief use of the equipment will be “detecting toxic and heavy metals like arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium” on the spot at mining areas. Normally, samples taken at a site must be transported to a laboratory.