Development of compact laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer for planetary missions

摘要

Future space missions to diverse planetary bodies will require increasingly compact instrumentation that can detect and determine the structure of a wide range of organic molecules, which can provide powerful insights into planetary origin and evolution. To this end, we developed a highly capable, miniaturized laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometer (LDMS) optimized to characterize the diversity and structure of nonvolatile organics in solid samples. The instrument package combines a number of specialized features, inclucding a precision ion gate for targeted mass selection, a curved-field mass analyzer enabling fragment analysis in a compact instrument, switchable potentials for positive and negative ion detection, and two-step laser tandem mass spectrometry (L2MS) for enhanced specificity and selectivity to aromatic species.