The Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) instrument onboard the ESA/Roscosmos ExoMars rover (to launch in July, 2020) will analyze volatile and refractory organic compounds in martian surface and subsurface sediments. In this study, we describe the design, current status of development, and analytical capabilities of the instrument. Data acquired on preliminary MOMA flight-like hardware and experimental setups are also presented, illustrating their contribution to the overall science return of the mission. Key Words: Mars—Mass spectrometry—Life detection—Planetary instrumentation. Astrobiology 17, 655–685.

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International audienceThis paper describes strategies to search for, detect, and identify organic material on the surface and subsurface of Mars. The strategies described include those applied by landed missions in the past and those that will be applied in the future. The value and role of ESA's ExoMars rover and of her key science instrument Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) are critically assessed

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Evidence from recent Mars missions indicates the presence of perchlorate salts up to 1 wt % level in the near-surface materials. Mixed perchlorates and other oxychlorine species may complicate the detection of organic molecules in bulk martian samples when using pyrolysis techniques. To address this analytical challenge, we report here results of laboratory measurements with laser desorption mass spectrometry, including analyses performed on both commercial and Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) breadboard instruments. We demonstrate that the detection of nonvolatile organics in selected spiked mineral-matrix materials by laser desorption/ionization (LDI) mass spectrometry is not inhibited by the presence of up to 1 wt % perchlorate salt. The organics in the sample are not significantly degraded or combusted in the LDI process, and the parent molecular ion is retained in the mass spectrum. The LDI technique provides distinct potential benefits for the detection of organics in situ on the martian surface and has the potential to aid in the search for signs of life on Mars.

We present secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) data obtained from the bombardment of a novel nanomaterial with a suite of projectiles: Au1+, Au3+, Au9+, and Au400(4+). These are the first experiments where free-standing nano-objects were bombarded with kiloelectronvolt projectiles of atomic to nanoparticle size (Au400(4+)). The objects are aluminum monohydrate nanowhiskers, identified as crystalline boehmite (AlOOH) using X-ray diffraction. The nanoalumina is bonded to a microglass fiber that serves as a scaffold. The largest projectile, Au400(4+), has a diameter of approximately 2 nm, comparable to the nominal diameter of the nanowhiskers. There are notable differences in secondary ion (SI) response from sample volumes too small for full projectile energy deposition. The whisker spectra are dominated by small clusters--the most abundant species being AlO- and AlO2-. Bulk samples have larger yields for AlO2- than AlO-, whereas this trend is reversed in the whisker samples. Bulk samples give similar abundances of large SI cluster families [(Al2O3)(n)AlO2]- and [(Al2O3)(n)OH]-, whereas the whisker samples give an order of magnitude lower yield of these SIs. Given the nature of our experiments, i.e., the event-by-event bombardment/detection mode, we are uniquely able to obtain information from SIs emitted from single-projectile impacts. As such, effective yields were calculated in order to determine quantitative differences between the nano-objects and bulk samples.

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The 2018 joint ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars rover mission will seek the signs of past or present life in the near-surface environment of Mars. The rover will obtain samples from as deep as two meters beneath the surface and deliver them to an onboard analytical laboratory for detailed examination. The Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) investigation forms a core part of the sample analysis capability of ExoMars. Its top objective is to address the main "life signs" goal of the mission through detailed chemical analysis of the acquired samples. MOMA characterizes organic compounds in the samples with a novel dual ion source ion trap mass spectrometer (ITMS). The ITMS supports both pyrolysis-gas chromatography (pyr-GC) and Mars ambient laser desorption/ionization (LDI) analyses in an extremely compact package. Combined with the unprecedented depth sampling capability of ExoMars, MOMA affords a broad and powerful search for organics over a range of preservational environments, volatility, and molecular weight.