Ion trap mass spectrometry on a comet nucleus: the Ptolemy instrument and the Rosetta space mission

Abstract

In May 2014, the Rosetta spacecraft is scheduled to rendezvous with the comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko ('67P'). One of the instruments on board the 'Lander' which will descend on to the surface of the comet is a miniaturised GC/MS system that incorporates an ion trap mass spectrometer, specially developed for isotope ratio analysis. This article describes the development and optimisation of the ion trap for this unique application, and presents a summary of the range of pre-programmed experiments that will contribute to the characterisation of the solid and volatile cometary materials.

Coupling of LMS with a fs-laser ablation ion source: elemental and isotope composition measurements

“…Gas phase analyses using space instruments such as Ptolemy on Rosetta should have the capability of achieving an analytical precision of about 5& or better and the Gas Analytical Package (GAP) on Beagle 2 of about 1& or better for isotope ratios. [10][11][12][13] However, current space instrumentation designed for investigations of the chemical composition of solid materials allows the measurement of major and minor elements with elemental concentrations in sample material at best at the per mill level. [14][15][16][17][18][19] More sensitive instruments are necessary in space research.…”

In vivo Real-Time Mass Spectrometry for Guided Surgery Application

“…Its strength relies in its ability to retrieve molecular information from complex mixtures with the possibility to identify each detected compound, as well as the broad panel of MS-based techniques that allow the design of instruments of various geometries, performances, characteristics and capabilities. MS can be used for applications as remote as analyzing solar wind during space missions 1 2 or trying to get a deeper coverage of the proteome of human cells 3 4 . The last decades have witnessed the important changes within the field of MS slowly moving from conventional analysis of extracted samples introduced into the mass spectrometer to the analysis of sample tissue pieces.…”

Instrumentation Development forIn Situ40Ar/39Ar Planetary Geochronology

“…Alternatively, a solution could involve development of a high‐resolution ion trap mass spectrometer such as one from the Ptolemy instrument on the Rosetta mission (Todd et al . ) for stable isotopes, and one in development at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and California Institute of Technology (Neidholdt et al . ).…”