Analysis Of Organic Molecules On Mars With The Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer Of The SAM Experiment Of The MSL 2011 Mission

Details Analysis Of Organic Molecules On Mars With The Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer Of The SAM Experiment Of The MSL 2011 Mission Analysis Of Organic Molecules On Mars With The Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer Of The SAM Experiment Of The MSL 2011 Mission

Dec 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufm.p33c1778s&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #P33C-1778

Biology

[5200] Planetary Sciences: Astrobiology, [6225] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Mars, [6297] Planetary Sciences: Solar System Objects / Instruments And Techniques

Scientific paper

The search for organic molecules at the Mars surface is of primary importance to evaluate the possibility for a prebiotic chemistry to have occurred on Mars, and also to determine the influence of the surface environmental conditions on the organic materials. In the frame of the NASA's MSL2011 mission, the Gas Chromatograph Quadrupole Mass Spectrometer (GC-QMS) of the Sample Analysis at Mars experiment (SAM) will be the main instrumentation to seek for organics. It will indeed analyse either atmospheric gases, or the gaseous products released by soils or rocks samples submitted to thermal or chemical treatments in the Sampling and Manipulation System of SAM. To reach that goal, the GC, dedicated to separate gaseous species, is composed of six different analytical channels, each one devoted to a specific range of chemical compounds. This configuration enables for the separation of a broad range of chemical species, from permanent gases to organic molecules containing up to 20 carbon atoms approximately, as well as enantiomers. The QMS provides structural information on the molecules analysed with the GC, enabling their identification which is the primary objective concerning the organics. This paper will present a view of the analytical capabilities of the GC-QMS used in SAM, with a focus on the GC part. Based on results obtained with laboratory tests performed during the development of the GC, and also on tests performed with the engineering and flight models of the GC and QMS coupled together, we will present a view of the analytical capabilities for the experiment to detect and identify a broad range of organics, including large molecules of astrobiological interest and chiral organics.

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