Impossible Sensing, LLC¶
SBIR Portfolio Company + Mars Heritage Instrument Builder
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| HQ | St. Louis, MO |
| Founded | 2016 |
| CEO/Founder | Pablo Sobron, PhD (SETI Institute Research Scientist) |
| Core tech | Laser spectroscopy (LIBS, Raman, fluorescence) |
| FO project | 184139 — FLEW.ID water/nutrient monitoring |
| TechPort footprint | 16 projects (15 SBIR/STTR + 1 FO) |
| Federal funding | ~$8.5M across 17 USASpending awards |
| NASA funding | ~$6.6M across 15 NASA awards |
| Non-NASA | $1.84M DOI/BOEM (deep-sea mineral detection) |
| Key heritage | Perseverance Mars rover SHERLOC co-investigator (Pablo Sobron) |
Updated: Session 83, 2026-04-07 — Added NASA Spinoff Dec 2025 details: Canadian subsidiary (Impossible Sensing Energy, Calgary), "Flow" brand, Veren purchased 20 units, Tundra O&G orders
The Company¶
Impossible Sensing develops spectroscopy instruments for space exploration, deep-sea science, and critical mineral detection. Founded by Pablo Sobron — a world expert in spectroscopy and Research Scientist at the SETI Institute — the company builds sensors that identify chemical composition at the molecular level using laser-based techniques (LIBS, Raman, fluorescence).
The company operates from a lab in a converted church basement in St. Louis. Sobron's Mars heritage is the company's provenance anchor: he is a co-investigator on the SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals) instrument on NASA's Perseverance rover, which has been operating on Mars since February 2021. Per local media, "two pieces of Impossible equipment" flew on Perseverance.
Key insight: Impossible Sensing is one of the most prolific SBIR recipients in the FO portfolio — 16 TechPort projects spanning 2018–2028, all built on spectroscopy platform technology. Each product line (DiSCO, HARPOON, PERISCOPE, FLEW.ID) started as a space instrument and pivoted to terrestrial commercial markets via Phase II-E extensions.
FO Project — FLEW.ID¶
184139 — Real-Time Nutrient and Water Monitoring Systems in Space
Period: 2025-06-01 to 2028-06-30
TRL: 4 → 6 (target)
TX: TX06.1.2 Water Recovery and Management
PI: Pablo Sobron
Status: Active
FLEW.ID (Focused LIBS for Elements in Water IDentification) uses laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy to analyze liquid samples in <1 second. A focused laser pulse creates a plasma spark in flowing liquid; the emitted light acts as a chemical fingerprint, identifying elements down to 10 ppm with no consumables.
FO role: Parabolic flight tests validate FLEW.ID in microgravity — fluid dynamics behavior, bubble formation effects, and LIBS accuracy. This bridges TRL 4 → 6 for ISS/lunar habitat deployment.
SBIR lineage: - Phase I 125525: 2022-07 to 2023-01 (TRL 2→4, $156K) - Phase II 154589: 2023-06 to 2025-06 (TRL 4→6, $1.27M) - Phase III (80NSSC25C0438): 2025-07 to 2026-08 ($374.8K)
Phase III awarded July 2025 — concurrent with FO flight testing. This dual-track (SBIR III + FO) is the strongest maturation signal.
Addresses NASA gaps: 1519 (Environmental Monitoring for Habitation), 1525 (Food/Nutrition for Mars), 1523 (Earth-Independent Operations), 1610 (Surface Food Management).
Full TechPort Portfolio (16 projects)¶
Flagship Instruments (Phase I → II → II-E/III)¶
| Product | TechPort IDs | Final TRL | Description | Commercial Pivot |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DiSCO | 102072, 102635, 125493 | 7 | Dual in-situ spectroscopy + coring for planetary subsurface | Deep-sea critical mineral detection (BOEM $1.84M) |
| HARPOON | 102065, 102710, 125534 | 7 | Ultra-compact Raman probe with multiplexed fiber optics | Deep-sea VIPER optical probe for REE mapping |
| PERISCOPE | 102989, 113432, 154446 | 7 | Regolith/ice subsurface probe for organics detection | Oil & gas GHG monitoring (NASA Spinoff) |
| FLEW.ID | 125525, 154589, 184139 (FO) | 4→6 | LIBS water/nutrient monitoring | ISS plant growth + terrestrial agriculture |
Phase I Only (exploratory)¶
| Product | TechPort ID | TRL | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| LACROSS | 94650 | 4 | Enceladus/Saturn plume analyzer |
| GRAAL | 113238 | 3 | Geospatial atmospheric lidar |
| PWLSR | 102989 | 3 | Europa ice tether spectrometer |
| SERS | 158146 | 3 | Surface-enhanced Raman for life detection (FY24) |
FO Project¶
| FLEW.ID | 184139 | 4→6 | LIBS water monitoring for ISS/habitats |
USASpending Detail ($8.5M total)¶
| Award ID | Amount | Agency | Description | Period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 140M0121C0003 | $1.84M | DOI/BOEM | VIPER deep-sea mineral detection | 2021–2024 |
| 80NSSC23CA105 | $1.27M | NASA | FLEW.ID Phase II | 2023–2026 |
| 80NSSC20C0156 | $1.12M | NASA | DiSCO Phase II | 2020–2023 |
| 80NSSC20C0163 | $1.12M | NASA | HARPOON Phase II | 2020–2025 |
| 80NSSC21C0522 | $1.01M | NASA | PERISCOPE Phase II (OT) | 2021–2024 |
| 80NSSC23CA172 | $600K | NASA | DiSCO Phase II-E | 2023–2024 |
| 80NSSC25C0438 | $375K | NASA | FLEW.ID Phase III | 2025–2026 |
| 80NSSC22PB043 | $156K | NASA | FLEW.ID Phase I | 2022–2023 |
| 80NSSC24PB334 | $148K | NASA | SERS Phase I (FY24) | 2024–2025 |
| 80NSSC19C0312 | $125K | NASA | HARPOON Phase I | 2019–2020 |
| 80NSSC18P2096 | $125K | NASA | LACROSS Phase I | 2018–2019 |
| 80NSSC20C0492 | $125K | NASA | PWLSR Phase I | 2020–2021 |
| 80NSSC19C0333 | $125K | NASA | DiSCO Phase I | 2019–2020 |
| 80NSSC21C0192 | $124K | NASA | GRAAL Phase I | 2021 |
| 80NSSC20C0456 | $124K | NASA | PERISCOPE Phase I | 2020–2021 |
| 80NSSC19P1872 | $80K | NASA | Lipid Raman life detection | 2019–2020 |
| 80NSSC22PB947 | $29K | NASA | Optical substrates (CIF) | 2022–2023 |
Upstream — Where This Came From¶
Pablo Sobron's research career is the upstream lineage: - SETI Institute — Research Scientist, spectroscopy for astrobiology - Perseverance SHERLOC — Co-investigator on the LIBS/Raman instrument operating on Mars since Feb 2021 - WUSTL / McDonnell Center — Academic affiliation in St. Louis - NASA Spinoff (published Dec 30, 2025) — "Search for Life Helps the Search for Oil" featured Impossible Sensing's technology transfer from planetary science to energy. Confirms Canadian subsidiary, Flow product, and customer orders.
Downstream — Where This Is Going¶
Space Path¶
- FLEW.ID → ISS plant growth monitoring — Phase III + FO active; ISS integration path for autonomous nutrient monitoring in space agriculture systems
- DiSCO/HARPOON → future planetary missions — TRL 5–7 instruments ready for mission proposals (Enceladus, Europa, lunar ISRU prospecting)
Commercial Pivots (NASA Spinoff model)¶
- Deep-sea mineral detection — BOEM $1.84M VIPER project; DiSCO + HARPOON Phase II-E extensions pivoted to mapping rare earth elements on the seafloor of the US EEZ. InVADER underwater robot deployed to depths of 1,087–3,111m in May 2023.
- Oil & gas flow metering — COMMERCIAL PRODUCT LAUNCHED — U.S. Patent 12,523,592 granted January 13, 2026: "Method and system for measuring flow and composition of single and multi-phase fluids." Named Missouri Patent of the Month (Feb 2026). Applies multi-modal optical spectroscopy (Raman, fluorescence, LIBS) to measure oil, water, and gas flow rates in real-time without separation or radioactive sources. Replaces legacy nuclear meters ($250K comparable sensors) and gravity separators, reducing methane emissions and operational costs. This technology is now in commercial deployment:
- Canadian subsidiary: Impossible Sensing Energy (Calgary, Alberta) — dedicated entity for energy sector sales
- Product brand: "Flow" — multi-phase flow meter
- Customer traction (confirmed per NASA Spinoff, Dec 30 2025): Veren (formerly Crescent Point Energy, a major Canadian E&P company) purchased 20 Flow units; Tundra Oil & Gas placed orders; "several other companies currently testing"
- Cost advantage: one-tenth the cost of comparable $250K sensors
- Note: Veren was acquired by Whitecap Resources (completed May 12, 2025, creating a combined ~200K BOE/day producer) — so Flow units were purchased before or during acquisition. Unclear whether Whitecap continues deployment under the new entity.
- Assessment: This is the most commercially significant development in Impossible Sensing's portfolio. The company has crossed from "SBIR recipient with IP" to "company with paying customers and a dedicated sales subsidiary." The Mars rover → oil field technology transfer is now generating revenue.
- Oil & gas GHG monitoring — PERISCOPE Phase II-E pivoted to real-time monitoring of oil/solvent recovery; up to 90% of GHG emissions in oil sands extraction could be avoided with this monitoring capability.
- Agriculture — FLEW.ID's terrestrial application: precision fertigation monitoring with 10 ppm sensitivity, 100× faster and 10× cheaper than lab analysis.
Timeline¶
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 2016 | Company founded |
| 2018 | First NASA SBIR (LACROSS, HARPOON Phase I) |
| 2019 | DiSCO, PERISCOPE Phase I awards |
| 2020 | Phase II awards begin ($3.3M across 3 products) |
| 2021 | Perseverance lands on Mars with SHERLOC; BOEM VIPER $1.84M |
| 2022 | Phase II-E extensions; FLEW.ID Phase I |
| 2023 | DiSCO + HARPOON reach TRL 7; PERISCOPE TRL 7; InVADER deep-sea deployment |
| 2024 | SERS Phase I (new product line) |
| 2025 | FLEW.ID Phase III + FO flight test — dual maturation track; Flow product commercially deployed (Veren 20 units, Tundra O&G orders); Veren acquired by Whitecap (May 2025) |
| 2025 Dec | NASA Spinoff article published: "Search for Life Helps the Search for Oil" |
| 2026 Jan | U.S. Patent 12,523,592 granted — multi-phase flow metering (Missouri Patent of the Month, Feb 2026) |
| 2028 | FO project completion target |
Assessment¶
Outcome category: SBIR Portfolio Company with Active Commercial Revenue
Archetype: Platform technology → multiple product lines → commercial pivot → paying customers
Confidence: Confirmed (16 TechPort projects, $8.5M tracked, Phase III active, U.S. patent granted Jan 2026, Flow product deployed to multiple Canadian E&P companies)
Why this matters for FO: FLEW.ID is Impossible Sensing's latest product — it enters FO at Phase III stage, meaning the company has the full SBIR pipeline behind it. The FO parabolic flights provide microgravity validation that ground labs cannot. If FLEW.ID succeeds, it becomes ISS infrastructure for space agriculture — addressing one of NASA's most critical long-duration mission gaps.
Comparison: Impossible Sensing's 16-project portfolio is among the largest single-company footprints in FO-adjacent SBIR space, comparable to Busek (propulsion) or Honeybee (surface systems) but in the spectroscopy/sensing domain.
Open Questions¶
- What is Sobron's exact role on SHERLOC? Co-I confirmed by web sources, but the specific contributions need verification from the SHERLOC team paper (Space Science Reviews, 2021).
- Has InVADER produced publications from the 2023 deep-sea deployment?
- Is the BOEM VIPER project related to or separate from the now-cancelled NASA VIPER lunar rover?
- Team size and funding round details not publicly available.
- NEW (Session 83): How many Flow units are currently deployed? Is Whitecap Resources (Veren's acquirer) continuing deployment? What is Flow unit price and annual revenue?
- NEW (Session 83): Has Impossible Sensing Energy (Calgary) hired staff or is it a shell/distribution entity?
See also: Cryogenic cluster (different domain but similar SBIR-portfolio-company archetype)