The search for life beyond Earth is a key motivator in space exploration. Informational polymers, like DNA and RNA, are key biosignatures for life as we know it. The MinION is a miniature DNA ...sequencer based on versatile nanopore technology that could be implemented on future planetary missions. A critical unanswered question is whether the MinION and its protein-based nanopores can withstand increased radiation exposure outside Earth’s shielding magnetic field. We evaluated the effects of ionizing radiation on the MinION platform – including flow cells, reagents, and hardware – and discovered limited performance loss when exposed to ionizing doses comparable to a mission to Mars. Targets with harsher radiation environments, like Europa, would require improved radiation resistance via additional shielding or design refinements.
The Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging (DAVINCI) mission described herein has been selected for flight to Venus as part of the NASA Discovery Program. DAVINCI ...will be the first mission to Venus to incorporate science driven flybys and an instrumented descent sphere into a unified architecture. The anticipated scientific outcome will be a new understanding of the atmosphere, surface, and evolutionary path of Venus as a possibly once-habitable planet and analog to hot terrestrial exoplanets. The primary mission design for DAVINCI as selected features a preferred launch in summer/fall 2029, two flybys in 2030, and descent sphere atmospheric entry by the end of 2031. The in situ atmospheric descent phase subsequently delivers definitive chemical and isotopic composition of the Venus atmosphere during an atmospheric transect above Alpha Regio. These in situ investigations of the atmosphere and near infrared descent imaging of the surface will complement remote flyby observations of the dynamic atmosphere, cloud deck, and surface near infrared emissivity. The overall mission yield will be at least 60 Gbits (compressed) new data about the atmosphere and near surface, as well as the first unique characterization of the deep atmosphere environment and chemistry, including trace gases, key stable isotopes, oxygen fugacity, constraints on local rock compositions, and topography of a tessera.
•We report the technical details of the laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry mode operation on Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA).•The MOMA instrument components were designed/modified ...and miniaturized specifically for Martian environment.•We show here the system-level analytical capabilities of MOMA have met the mission requirements.
The Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA), a dual-source, ion trap-based instrument capable of both pyrolysis-gas chromatography mass spectrometry (pyr/GC–MS) and laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS), is the core astrobiology investigation on the ExoMars rover. The MOMA instrument will be the first spaceflight mass analyzer to exploit the LDI technique to detect refractory organic compounds and characterize host mineralogy; this mode of analysis will be conducted at Mars ambient conditions. In order to achieve high performance in the Martian environment while keeping the instrument compact and low power, a number of innovative designs and components have been implemented for MOMA. These include a miniaturized linear ion trap (LIT), a fast actuating aperture valve with ion inlet tube, and a Microelectromechanical System (MEMS) Pirani sensor. Advanced analytical capabilities like Stored Waveform Inverse Fourier Transform (SWIFT) for selected ion ejection and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) are realized in LDI-MS mode, and enable the isolation and enhancement of specific mass ranges and structural analysis, respectively. We report here the technical details of these instrument components as well as system-level analytical capabilities, and we review the applications of this technology to Mars and other high-priority targets of planetary exploration.
The highly compact Linear Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (LITMS), developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, combines Mars-ambient laser desorption-mass spectrometry (LD-MS) and pyrolysis-gas ...chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) through a single, miniaturized linear ion trap mass analyzer. The LITMS instrument is based on the Mars Organic Molecule Analyser (MOMA) investigation developed for the European Space Agency's ExoMars Rover Mission with further enhanced analytical features such as dual polarity ion detection and a dual frequency RF (radio frequency) power supply allowing for an increased mass range. The LITMS brassboard prototype underwent an extensive repackaging effort to produce a highly compact system for terrestrial field testing, allowing for molecular sample analysis in rugged planetary analog environments outside the laboratory. The LITMS instrument was successfully field tested in the Mars analog environment of the Atacama Desert in 2019 as part of the Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies (ARADS) project, providing the first
planetary analog analysis for a high-fidelity, flight-like ion trap mass spectrometer. LITMS continued to serve as a laboratory tool for continued analysis of natural Atacama samples provided by the subsequent 2019 ARADS final field campaign.
The Extraterrestrial Molecular Indicators of Life Investigation (EMILI) merges the complementary techniques of liquid-based capillary electrophoresis (CE), including laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) ...and conductivity detection, and gas-based pyrolysis/ derivatization gas chromatography (GC) with a highly sensitive ion trap mass spectrometer (ITMS) to provide robust and complete detection and characterization of potential molecular biosignatures present on an ocean world. Breadboard versions of the three main subsystems of EMILI have recently been coupled together and provide a first look at the functionality and overall instrument performance of the complete system. A selection of results from this testing are presented here along with an outlook on the future development of EMILI.
We use Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer engineering model data to develop mass-spectrometry-focused machine learning techniques. Initial results show that the preliminary categorization could permit ...autonomous operations, such as prioritizing example data and decisions about retuning parameters for specific samples.
The Dragonfly Mass Spectrometer (DraMS) onboard NASA's Dragonfly mission will analyze the composition of samples collected from the surface of Saturn's moon Titan. The Laser Desorption Mass ...Spectrometry (LDMS) mode of DraMS will examine ions produced directly from powders delivered and maintained at cryogenic temperatures not to exceed 175 K. To perform flight-like laboratory testing of this mode, we have developed a protocol for preparing and analyzing Titan analog samples at low temperatures with a cooled sample stage. Ice powder samples were prepared using liquid nitrogen, transferred to an actively cooled sample holder, and analyzed at sub-ambient pressure. Initial LDMS results on selected frozen organics in water and ammonia-water (NH 3 -H 2 O) ice powders are reported here. Results demonstrate the capability of DraMS LDMS cryogenic sample analysis and its potential to significantly contribute to Titan exploration.
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.
The search for life and habitable environments on other Solar System bodies is a major motivator for planetary exploration. Due to the difficulty and significance of detecting extant or extinct ...extraterrestrial life in situ, several independent measurements from multiple instrument techniques will bolster the community's confidence in making any such claim. We demonstrate the detection of subsurface biosignatures using a suite of instrument techniques including IR reflectance spectroscopy, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. We focus our measurements on subterranean calcium carbonate field samples, whose biosignatures are analogous to those that might be expected on some high-interest astrobiology targets. In this work, we discuss the feasibility and advantages of using each of the aforementioned instrument techniques for the in situ search for biosignatures and present results on the autonomous characterization of biosignatures using multivariate statistical analysis techniques. Key Words: Biosignature suites-Caves-Mars-Life detection. Astrobiology 17, 1203-1218.
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