November 25, 2019Ball Wave NEWS RELEASE

Ball Wave inc.

Ball Wave Selected for JAXA Space Exploration Innovation Hubʼs Request for Proposal
Towards practical realization of highly sensitive and accurate portable gas sensor for volatile detection

Concept image of a lunar landing mission planned by JAXA

Ball Wave Inc., headquartered in the city of Sendai in Japan's Miyagi Prefecture and led by CEO
Shingo Akao, has been selected by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Space Exploration
Innovation Hub Center (hereinafter Exploration Hub) to conduct solution creating research as part ofOpen Innovation Hub for Expanding Humanosphere and the Domain of Human Activity through Solar
System Frontier Development(1). Following a recent request for research proposals, the Exploration
Hub selected a proposal submitted by Ball Wave describing a research collaboration with JAXA
(hereinafter “this research”) with the goal of realizing a highly sensitive and accurate portable gas
sensor for volatile detection that can be used to detect many species of gases and volatile organic
compounds in the context of social implementation and space exploration. The oﬃcial theme of thisresearch project is “Development of sensitive and precise portable gas chromatograph(2) for multiple
volatile compounds.”(1) The Exploration Hub was selected for the Support program for starting up innovation hub (Period : 2015/6/1〜2020/3/31) sponsored by
Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and this research is based on the Support program.
(2) When a mixture of two or more gases is forced to traverse a specialized ﬂow path̶consisting of a hollow tube wrapped around a reel andknown as a column̶the various components of the mixture naturally separate in time. A gas chromatograph is an analytical instrument that
exploits this temporal-separation phenomenon to identify and measure the concentrations of the components of gaseous mixtures.
Conventional gas chromatographs are large instruments typically installed in tabletop conﬁgurations; although portable versions have beendeveloped, their sensitivity and precision remain problematic.

© 2019 Ball Wave inc.

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November 25, 2019Ball Wave NEWS RELEASE

Ball Wave inc.

In recent years, the ﬁeld of space exploration has witnessed an intense growth of interest in theexistence of volatile compounds̶such as water in the vicinity of the lunar poles̶and the presence ofwater, organic matter, and volatile compounds on asteroids. Discoveries of methane in the atmosphereof Mars, and of organic matter in the soil of Mars are also reported by the Mars-exploring rover
Curiosity(3) operated by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). However,Curiosityʼs measurement apparatus is extremely large scaled̶weighing more than 40 kg̶and it is alimitation of the present state of technology that such analytical instruments can, in practice, only bemounted on very large rovers on the scale of Curiosity or larger. For these reasons, this research will
exploit two innovative sensor technologies developed by Ball Wave̶the highly sensitive ball SAWsensor(4) and the metal MEMS column(5)̶to facilitate the development of a portable gas
chromatograph with dimensions of just 100 100 100 mm and a weight on the order of just 1 kg. Suchan instrument could be mounted on rovers or other space vehicles tasked with exploring the moon,Mars, or asteroids, and could be used for quantitative, in-situ analyses of atmospheric gases and of thegases emitted by the heating of soil samples. The fruits of this research may well lay the groundworkfor major progress in areas such as the optimal utilization of space resources and life science.
The sensitive and precise portable gas chromatograph developed by this research will be of value not
only in space, but on Earth as well. As detailed below, the potential applications of this newtechnology span a wide range of sectors̶from industry and energy, to agriculture, forestry, andﬁshing, to health care̶and may play key roles in building safe, secure, clean, and sustainable futuresocieties.
• Energy / Industry: Component analysis for evaluating the energy content of natural gas. Component
analysis of gases emitted from binders or electrolytes during production or use of lithium-ionbatteries.
• Agriculture, forestry, ﬁshing: Reduced food loss via early detection of degradation in fresh ﬁsh,fruits and vegetables, and cooking oils. Aroma analysis for monitoring of brewing processes foralcoholic beverages, soy sauce, and other products.
• Health care: Detection of toxic gases in residential areas and contaminants in soil. Detection ofillnesses via analysis of bodily gases: breath, body odor, intestinal gases.
(3) Curiosity is a rover (an exploratory vehicle), with a total length of 3 m and a mass of approximately 900 kg, carried by the Mars ScienceLaboratory spacecraft used in NASAʼs Mars-exploration program.
(4) A sensor, developed by Tohoku University Professor Emeritus Kazushi Yamanaka and collaborators, based on the phenomenon of surface
acoustic waves (SAWs)̶elastic surface oscillations that can concentrate and propagate across solid surfaces̶traveling on the surface ofspheres.
(5) A microfabricated column of high durability, developed at Tohoku University, that uses tiny planar column elements̶produced using themicrofabrication methods called micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) technology̶to convert a brittle and fragile silicon structure into arobust and tough metal structure.

© 2019 Ball Wave inc.

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November 25, 2019Ball Wave NEWS RELEASE

Ball Wave inc.

■About the JAXA Space Exploration Innovation HubThe Exploration Hub is a center for collaborative research initiatives
involving corporations, universities, and research institutes. The Hub iscommitted to the long-term objective of applying the fruits of research tothe challenge of space exploration, while simultaneously working in the near term to pursue practicalcommercialization opportunities on Earth and to select problems with the potential to generate̶andmake practical use of̶innovations.
(Space Exploration Innovation Hub Website: http://www.ihub-tansa.jaxa.jp/)(Support program for starting up innovation hub by Japan Science and Technology Agency Website:
https://www.jst.go.jp/ihub/)■About Ball Wave Inc.
Ball Wave Inc. is a startup company founded to develop the technology of theball-SAW sensor̶a chemical sensor(6) that blossomed from technical seeds sownat Tohoku University̶for purposes such as trace moisture analysis and highspeed, high-sensitivity detection of multiple gases species, helping to lay thefoundations for safe, secure, clean, and sustainable future societies. Ball Wave
develops, manufactures, and sells measurement instruments̶such as tracemoisture analyzers and gas chromatographs̶equipped with ball-SAW sensors. In addition to the hightemperature, pressure, and corrosion resistance of crystal spheres, these sensors boast over 100 times
the sensitivity of conventional technologies and signiﬁcantly more rapid responsivity.
(Website: http://ballwave.jp/)(6) A sensor technology for capturing chemical changes of substances■About Ball Waveʼs trace-moisture analyzers FalconTrace Series
Ball Waveʼs FalconTrace series of instruments is capable of measuring trace moisture content at levels
ranging from ppm (parts per million) to ppb (parts per billion)̶the sensitivities demanded for quality
control of industrial gases in ﬁelds such as semiconductor manufacturing and lithium-ion battery
production. The FalconTrace series oﬀers a two-product lineup: the FalconTrace oﬀers high speed andhigh performance, while the reduced footprint of the FalconTrace Mini makes it easy to install at
production sites. Ball Wave is currently engaged in mass production and sales of these instruments toa wide range of industrial customers, including manufacturers of semiconductor production equipment
and producers of lithium-ion batteries.

For questions concerning this press release, contact:
Ball Wave Inc.
Attn: Shingo Akao
E-mail: info@ballwave.jp
Phone: 81-22-302-6659© 2019 Ball Wave inc.

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