In situ sampling using Meta-Stable Helium

Author

Anderson, Mark ; Allwood, Abigail

Author_Institution

Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Technol., Pasadena, CA

fYear

2009

fDate

7-14 March 2009

Firstpage

1

Lastpage

7

Abstract

A meta-stable helium (MSHe) extraction method has been developed for In Situ chemical analysis of rocks and soils. MSHe provides soft-ionization and desorption of organics from soil and rocks without the use of solvents or high temperatures. This enables rapid, simple and effective extraction of analytes for very sensitive chemical analysis. The work presented extends the MSHe sampling from mass spectroscopy to other analytical methods including surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Applications include in situ analysis of planetary samples as well as current research on ancient sedimentary rocks that potentially contain microbial remains on Earth. The new sampling technology provides a powerful and widely applicable sampling tool for planetary and astrobiology science requiring in situ organic analysis.

Keywords

astronomical techniques; extraterrestrial life; geophysical techniques; helium; mass spectra; metastable states; rocks; sampling methods; soil; surface enhanced Raman scattering; Earth; He; In Situ chemical analysis; MSHe extraction method; mass spectroscopy; metastable helium; rocks; sampling; soils; solvents; surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy; Chemical analysis; Chemical technology; Earth; Helium; Mass spectroscopy; Raman scattering; Sampling methods; Soil; Solvents; Temperature sensors;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Aerospace conference, 2009 IEEE

Conference_Location

Big Sky, MT

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-2621-8

Electronic_ISBN

978-1-4244-2622-5

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/AERO.2009.4839322

Filename

4839322