An Orbitrap‐based laser desorption/ablation mass spectrometer designed for spaceflight

Arévalo, Ricardo; Selliez, Laura; Briois, C.; Carrasco, Nathalie; Thirkell, L.; Cherville, Barnabé; Colin, Fabrice; Gaubicher, Bertrand; Farcy, Benjamin; Li, Xiang; Makarov, Alexander

doi:10.1002/rcm.8244

Cited by 42 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 98 publications

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“…For example, mass spectrometers that could be flown to Enceladus today exceed the capabilities of Cassini's instruments by one order of magnitude in mass range, two in mass resolution, and four in sensitivity (Lunine et al, 2015;Brockwell et al, 2016). Similarly, ongoing developments are expected to outperform current flight capabilities by, e.g., two more orders of magnitude in mass resolution (Arevalo et al, 2018). 2.…”

Section: Use Of Instruments That Cannot Be Flownmentioning

confidence: 99%

Returning Samples From Enceladus for Life Detection

Neveu

Anbar

Dávila

et al. 2020

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

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Evidence suggests that Saturn's icy moon Enceladus has a subsurface ocean that sources plumes of water vapor and ice vented to space from its south pole. In situ analyses of this material by the Cassini spacecraft have shown that the ocean contains key ingredients for life (elements H, C, N, O and possibly S; simple and complex organic compounds; chemical disequilibria at water-rock interfaces; clement temperature, pressure, and pH). The Cassini discoveries make Enceladus' interior a prime locale for life detection beyond Earth. Scant material exchange with the inner Solar System makes it likely that such life would have emerged independently of life on Earth. Thus, its discovery would illuminate life's universal characteristics. The alternative result of an upper bound on a detectable biosphere in an otherwise habitable environment would likewise considerably advance our understanding of the prevalence of life beyond Earth. Here we outline the rationale for returning vented ocean samples, accessible from Enceladus' surface or low altitudes, to Earth for life detection. Returning samples allows analyses using laboratory instruments that cannot be flown, with decades or more to adapt and repeat analyses. We describe an example set of measurements to estimate the amount of sample to be returned and discuss possible mission architectures and collection approaches. We then turn to the challenges of preserving sample integrity and implementing planetary protection policy. We conclude by placing such a mission in the broader context of Solar System exploration.

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Section: Use Of Instruments That Cannot Be Flownmentioning

confidence: 99%

Returning Samples From Enceladus for Life Detection

Neveu

Anbar

Dávila

et al. 2020

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

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“…With the same prototype configuration (TRL 3), analyses on pure organics and prebiotic compounds have demonstrated mass resolving power (FWHM) up to 70,000 at m/z 430 and mass accuracy better than 3 ppm (Arevalo Jr et al, 2018;Selliez et al, 2019). A full description of the set-up used in this work can also be found in these papers.…”

Section: Ultra-high Resolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Nd-YAG laser at 266 nm (the LAb-CosmOrbitrap, standing for Laser Ablation CosmOrbitrap). As the instrumental configuration "laser-CosmOrbitrap" is highly considered for a space application (Arevalo Jr et al, 2018), the laboratory prototype has been designed as proof-of-concept, to challenge the performances of a future simple and compact spaceflight HRMS (High Resolution Mass Spectrometry)-CosmOrbitrap based instrument.…”

Section: ) Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High‐resolution mass spectrometry for future space missions: Comparative analysis of complex organic matter with LAb‐CosmOrbitrap and laser desorption/ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance

Selliez¹,

Maillard

Cherville³

et al. 2020

Rapid Comm Mass Spectrometry

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(RATIONALE) Mass spectrometers are regularly boarded on spacecraft for the exploration of the Solar System. A better understanding of the origin, distribution and evolution of organic matter and its relationships with inorganic matter in different extra-terrestrial environments requires the development of innovative space tools, described as Ultra High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (UHRMS) instruments. (METHODS) Analyses of a complex organic material simulating extraterrestrial matter (Titan's tholins) are performed with a homemade space-designed Orbitrap TM equipped with a laser ablation ionization source at 266 nm: the LAb-CosmOrbitrap. Mass spectra are obtained using only one laser shot and transient duration of 838 ms. A comparison is made on the same sample with a laboratory benchmark mass spectrometer: a Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance equipped with a laser desorption ionization at 355 nm (LDI-FTICR) allowing accumulation of 20,000 laser shots. (RESULTS) Mass spectra and attributions of molecular formulae based on the peaks detected by both techniques show significant similarities. Detection and identification of the same species are validated. The formation of clusters ions with the LAb-CosmOrbitrap is also presented. This specific feature brings informative and unusual indirect detections about the chemical compounds constituting Titan's tholins. In particular, the detection of HCN confirms previous results obtained with laboratory Electrospray Ionization (ESI)-UHRMS studies about the understanding of polymeric patterns for the formation of tholins. (CONCLUSION) Capabilities of the LAb-CosmOrbitrap to decipher complex organic mixtures using single laser shot and a short transient are highlighted. In agreement with results provided by a commercial FTICR instrument in the laboratory, we demonstrate in this work the relevance of a space laser-CosmOrbitrap instrument for the future planetary exploration.

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“…Recently, Sysoev proposed a wedge-shaped ion mirror for focussing ions from laser ablation without prior acceleration 62 .Despite the large efforts, none of the mentioned instruments featured sufficient resolving power for baseline resolution of isobars. Arevalo et al followed a different approach and used an orbitrap mass analyser combined with a pulsed laser source for the analysis of solid samples 63 . The analyser featured a mass resolving power of more than 100'000.…”

Section: Mass Resolution and Reduction Of Isobaric Interferencesmentioning

confidence: 99%