New engineering design, instrument modeling, and data analysis techniques for spaceborne mass spectrometers.

摘要

This work describes technological innovations that can be used to improve upon space-borne mass spectrometers (MS), enabling breakthrough science and the development of the next-generation of sensors. Emphasis is placed on the two classes of MS with the strongest spaceflight heritage: quadrupole mass spectrometers (QMS) and time-of-flight mass spectrometers (TOF-MS). For the QMS, higher order auxiliary excitation techniques are modeled and implemented for the first time for both commercial and spaceflight-like sensors. These techniques, through modest modification of instrument electronics, are shown to significantly improve upon the maximum attainable mass resolution, sensitivity, ion rejection efficiency, and stability of measured mass spectra. For the TOF-MS, a complete analysis of instrument noise sources is conducted, and a mathematical framework for instrument measurements is developed. Such a framework results in an end-to-end forward modeling of instrument noise, dataset signal-to-noise estimation, and noise event removal algorithms. The developed noise processing techniques are applied to the Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer (FIPS) instrument on the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging (MESSENGER) spacecraft to enable the first ever mapping of the spatial distribution of heavy ions at Mercury, the first in situ measurements of solar wind heavy ion non-thermal properties in the inner heliosphere, as well as the first in situ measurements made inside of Earth's orbit of ionized helium originating from interstellar space.