Mass Spectrometry 101

The European Space Agency s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The pulsed UV laser and high-temperature ovens were developed in Germany, and the gas chromatograph in France. The Rosalind Franklin rover is a component of ExoMars, the primary Mars exploration program of the European Space Agency. Learn more at nasa.gov or download animations of MOMA. A model of the MOMA mass spectrometer, with the Rosalind Franklin rover in the background.

MOMA uses ultraviolet laser pulses to release and ionize organic compounds captured within crushed Martian surface and near-surface materials. Because each laser pulse lasts less than two billionths of a second, this process effectively ionizes more heat-resistant materials than those accessed by traditional oven-heating (pyrolysis) methods. Pulsed laser processing preserves weak molecular bonds, and enables the identification of organic compounds even in the presence of highly reactive perchlorates commonly found in Martian surface materials. One of the biggest questions in planetary science is whether life ever arose on Mars, and NASA and the European Space Agency are sending a cutting-edge instrument to the red planet to find out. The Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer, or MOMA, will be the most sophisticated mass spectrometer ever sent beyond Earth, squeezing a lab full of chemistry equipment into a package the size of a toaster. MOMA will ride to Mars aboard the European Space Agency s mass spectrometer employs a linear ion trap design, the first application of this technology in space. Using what are termed SWIFT techniques, MOMA can eject unwanted molecular species and enrich signals from molecules of interest. SWIFT stands for Stored Waveform Inverse Fourier Transform. Through tandem mass spectrometry, or MS/MS, the MOMA instrument can intentionally break apart primary molecules and analyze their secondary fragments. Benzoic acid is a ring (aromatic) hydrocarbon comprised of benzene and a carboxyl group. MOMA identifies molecules by determining their mass spectrum, depicted at right. Oleic acid is a chain (aliphatic) hydrocarbon, and one of the fatty acid molecules that makes up cell membranes on Earth. The mass spectrum for Oleic acid is depicted at right. The properties of an organic molecule depend not just on its molecular formula, but also on its structure. Isobaric compounds have different formulas and structures, but the same mass-to-charge ratio (M/Z), making them difficult to tell apart. Technologies on MOMA allow it to distinguish between such compounds. Lipids (fats) are long chains of carbon and hydrogen that make up cell membranes on Earth. MOMA will be the first instrument on Mars capable of detecting lipids, a leap forward in the search for life.

Highlight reel of the MOMA instrument during testing:00:00 - close up of the mass spectrometer subsystem00:06 - cleaning MOMA inside the Mars thermal vacuum chamber (TVAC)00:56 - preparation for electromagnetic interference (EMI) testing The Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer, or MOMA, is a miniaturized, highly sophisticated organic chemistry laboratory headed to the red planet aboard ESA s ultraviolet laser will allow it to study large organic molecules on Mars.