Massachusetts-based high-purity rare gas technologies company EFC Gases & Advanced Materials has secured a five-year contract to support NASA’s xenon gas reprocessing needs.
Worth up to $5m over its term, the project will see EFC ship, handle, and process around 500,000 litres of recovered xenon gas mixtures for space and propulsion research for the world-renowned US space agency.
© EFC
The work will be carried out at the company’s Rare Gas Centre of Excellence in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, which is dedicated to the purification, recovery, and recycling of xenon, krypton, and other noble gases.
Pavel Perlov, CEO of EFC Gases & Advanced Materials, said the contract was a testament to the company’s commitment to advancing sustainable rare gas purification.
“We are honoured to support NASA’s mission and contribute to the reusability and cost-efficiency of critical noble gas resources,” he added.
NASA primarily uses xenon as a propellant in ion thrusters used for deep space missions. Xenon is easily ionised and has a high atomic mass, generating the needed level of thrust when the ions are accelerated.
