Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Oct 2010
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2010dps....42.4913c&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #42, #49.13; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 42, p.1005
Mathematics
Logic
Scientific paper
On future surface missions to Mars, small bodies, and outer solar system satellites, increasingly robust sample screening and selection may be essential for achieving the maximum scientific benefit within limited payload resources. One approach to defining a sequence of analysis steps for a variety of missions is the identification of key organic functional groups by a spectroscopic prescreening tool, followed by organic compound analysis with mass spectrometric methods.
We discuss the development of a miniature near-infrared point spectrometer, operating in the 1.7-4 micron region, based on acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) technology. This instrument may be used to screen and corroborate analyses of samples containing organic biomarkers or mineralogical signatures suggestive of extant or extinct organic material collected in situ from planetary surfaces. The AOTF point spectrometer will be paired with a laser desorption time-of-flight (LDTOF) mass spectrometer and will prescreen samples for evidence of volatile or refractory organics before the laser desorption step and subsequent mass spectrometer measurement. AOTF systems provide great flexibility, being very compact, electronically programmable, with low power requirements. The LDTOF mass spectrometer provides pulsed-laser desorption and analysis of refractory organic compounds up to > 5,000 Da on a spatial scale of 10-30 mm, determined by the laser spot size at the target.
We describe the prototype AOTF point spectrometer instrument and present laboratory analysis of geological samples of known astrobiological importance. An initial mineral and rock sample suite of planetary relevance was used in the laboratory for baseline testing. To this, we added a complement of astrobiologically relevant biosignatures from a variety of well characterized geomicrobial study sites.
This work is supported by NASA's ASTID and EPSCoR programs through grant numbers NNX08AY44G and NNX08AV85A, respectively.
Boston P.
Brinckerhoff W.
Chanover Nancy Janet
Getty S.
Glenar David
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