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Spinoff story
Miniaturized Vacuum Pumps Play Big Roles on Mars and Earth
A real-world story of NASA technology finding a life beyond the mission.
About this technology
Overview
One of Curiosity_s tools is a mass spectrometer used to analyze rock and gas samples on the Red Planet. Through a series of SBIR contracts with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Creare Inc., based in Hanover, New Hampshire, built the vacuum chamber for the spectrometer by heavily modifying existing technology. The company has since commercialized its smaller, more rugged vacuum pumps for Earth-based applications, including mining operations, chemical-weapon and bomb detectors, and more.