Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) mass spectrometer for ExoMars 2018 and beyond

Author

Brinckerhoff, W.B. ; Pinnick, V.T. ; van Amerom, F.H.W. ; Danell, R.M. ; Arevalo, R.D. ; Atanassova, Martina S. ; Xiang Li ; Mahaffy, P.R. ; Cotter, R.J. ; Goesmann, F. ; Steininger, Heinrich

Author_Institution

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA

fYear

2013

fDate

2-9 March 2013

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

8

Abstract

The 2018 joint ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars rover mission will seek the signs of past or present life in the near-surface environment of Mars. The rover will obtain samples from as deep as two meters beneath the surface and deliver them to an onboard analytical laboratory for detailed examination. The Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) investigation forms a core part of the sample analysis capability of ExoMars. Its top objective is to address the main “life signs” goal of the mission through detailed chemical analysis of the acquired samples. MOMA characterizes organic compounds in the samples with a novel dual ion source ion trap mass spectrometer (ITMS). The ITMS supports both pyrolysis-gas chromatography (pyr-GC) and Mars ambient laser desorption/ionization (LDI) analyses in an extremely compact package. Combined with the unprecedented depth sampling capability of ExoMars, MOMA affords a broad and powerful search for organics over a range of preservational environments, volatility, and molecular weight.

Keywords

Mars; ion sources; mass spectrometers; organic compounds; planetary rovers; ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars rover mission; ExoMars; MOMA mass spectrometer; Mars ambient LDI analyses; Mars ambient laser desorption-ionization analyses; Mars near-surface environment; Mars organic molecule analyzer mass spectrometer; chemical analysis; dual ITMS; dual ion source ion trap mass spectrometer; molecular weight; onboard analytical laboratory; organic compounds; preservational environments; pyr-GC; pyrolysis-gas chromatography; Detectors; Instruments; Ionization; Mars; Radio frequency; Sensitivity; Valves;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Aerospace Conference, 2013 IEEE

Conference_Location

Big Sky, MT

ISSN

1095-323X

Print_ISBN

978-1-4673-1812-9

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/AERO.2013.6496942

Filename

6496942