A scaled-down version of a device that can detect organic compounds using a laser and mass spectrometer could one day fly on missions to Mars and other potentially habitable worlds in the solar system. The device uses a technique called laser desorption mass spectrometry (LDMS) and combines pulsed ultraviolet light laser With an analyzer called Orbitrap. It works by using a laser to vaporize a very small amount of material from a sample, for example a rock. This causes molecules to be released from the sample (this is “desorption”, which is the opposite of absorption), and the released molecules are then ionized without destroying the molecules.

Their composition is then analyzed using Orbitrap, which works by trapping the now ionized molecules in orbitals around the electrode. The electrical signal from ionized molecules (they have an electrical charge when ionized) can then be converted into a mass spectrum, telling scientists the molecules’ identity.

“You can find them in pharmaceutical, medical, and proteomics laboratories. [вивчення білків] Ricardo Arevalo, a professor of geology at the University of Maryland and lead author of a new study describing a smaller, more portable prototype. versions of the technology, as they say Messages.

LDMS and Orbitrap are particularly sensitive to organic molecules, including the building blocks of life such as proteins and amino acids. Thus, the instrument will be a powerful tool for missions to other planets, such as Mars, where NASA’s Curiosity and Perseverance rovers are currently investigating the surface chemistry. However, such an instrument has never been used on an interplanetary mission, as there is a major challenge, which is that LDMS and Orbitrap are often heavy pieces of equipment mostly used for commercial use.

“The prototype in my own lab weighs just under 400lb. [181 кілограм]so they’re pretty big, and it took us eight years to build a prototype that could be used effectively in space;

The new prototype weighs just 17 pounds (7.7 kg) in Earth’s gravity, and its compactness and lightness means it can be used in space missions where mass is important to keep costs down. Another advantage of the technology is that it is less likely to damage or contaminate the sample than with other elaborate mass spectrometry techniques. It’s also extremely versatile, say its designers.

“The good thing about a laser source is that anything that can be ionized can be analyzed,” Arevalo says. Said. For example, the device works equally well on silicate rocks and ice, meaning it could be used for future landing missions on icy moons of exoplanets, such as the proposed Orbilander mission. with a satellite of Saturn Enceladusalso on missions to Earth’s moon or Mars.