Air Quality Monitoring with STELLA Instruments
Understanding Air Quality
Air quality is a critical environmental factor that directly impacts human health, ecosystems, and climate. Poor air quality can cause or exacerbate respiratory conditions, cardiovascular diseases, and other health issues. Key air quality parameters include:
- Particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10)
- Carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations
- Temperature and humidity
- Barometric pressure
Monitoring these parameters helps scientists, educators, and citizens understand local environmental conditions and make informed decisions about health and their environment.
STELLA-AQ: Making Air Quality Science Accessible
The STELLA-AQ instrument (Science and Technology Education for Land/Life Assessment – Air Quality) is an innovative, low-cost solution that enables wide understanding of air quality monitoring. As part of NASA’s STELLA project, this DIY instrument brings environmental monitoring capabilities to students, educators, and citizen scientists.
STELLA-AQ
Key Features of STELLA-AQ
Affordability
Easy Assembly: Uses commercial off-the-shelf components with no soldering required
Comprehensive Measurements:
- Particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10)
- Particle densities (μg/m³)
- CO2 concentration (ppm)
- Air temperature (°C)
- Relative humidity (%)
- Barometric pressure
- Air Quality Index calculation for particulates
User-Friendly Operation: Simple interface with OLED display
Data Recording: Stores measurements on SD card with timestamps
Portable: Battery-powered with recharging capability
How STELLA-AQ Works
By building and using STELLA-AQ instruments, users gain valuable insights into air quality science, engineering principles, and data collection methodologies—the same fundamental concepts that underpin NASA’s Earth observation missions.