Statistics – Applications
Scientific paper
Jan 2001
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2001iaop.work...51l&link_type=abstract
Forum on Innovative Approaches to Outer Planetary Exploration 2001-2020, p. 51
Statistics
Applications
Mass Spectrometers, Time Of Flight Spectrometers, Chemical Composition, Spacecraft Instruments, Satellite Atmospheres, Europa, Triton, In Situ Measurement, Isotope Ratios
Scientific paper
The ReMaSp (Reflectron Mass Spectrometer) is designed to analyze in situ the chemical and isotopic composition of the gaseous environment of planets and small bodies. Analysis of the local gas composition establish ground truth for remote observations, and can determine parameters that are otherwise difficult, if not impossible, to obtain, like isotope ratios or abundance of noble gases and organic compounds. The intrinsic high mass resolution (delta(m)/m > 1000), high sensitivity (10-3 A/torr), working pressure range (10-15 to 10-14 Torr), and radiation resistance (> 100 krad) of the proposed sensor are well suited to address several key questions regarding outer solar system bodies, from comets to planetary satellites. This instrument placed on a cometary mission can address such issues as the presence of organics, the implied chemical composition of the solar protonebula, and the chemical mechanisms that contribute to the loss of materials from comets. This addresses our understanding of the origin and evolution of the early solar system and the transport of volatiles and pre-biotic material throughout the solar system. The ability to measure the chemical composition of tenuous atmospheres allows for interesting studies of such planetary satellites as Europa and Triton. Measurements taken by this instrument can address such issues as the molecular composition of Europa's atmosphere (Is there water in the atmosphere? What radiation products from the interaction of the Jovian magnetosphere with the water ice surface are present in the atmosphere? Are pre-biotic materials present and being sputtered off the surface?), the chemical composition of the Triton plumes, the production rate of Europa and Triton's atmosphere (for Europa: how much surface material is lost at what rate due to magnetospheric interactions), and the spatial variability of the Europa's atmospheric composition and its relationship to the ion distribution relative to possible variations in surface composition. Such an instrument also has intrinsic applications for any probe of Titan's thick atmosphere and the measure of any organic materials. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.
Brinckerhoff William B.
Domingue Donovan L.
Livi Stefano A.
Wurz Peter
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