Planets and Moons ID: 10620

Mass Spectrometry 101

Released on July 22, 2010

What do you do if you have a sample from another planet, and you want to find out if it contains a certain molecule...maybe even one that will reveal that the planet can sustain life? When scientists face a situation like this, they employ an amazing tool: the mass spectrometer. It does the hard work of separating out materials, allowing scientists to look very closely at a sample and see what's inside. Learn more about this tool in the video and animation below!

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Credits

Walt Feimer (HTSI): Lead Animator
Chris Smith (HTSI): Animator
Chris Smith (HTSI): Video Editor
Chris Smith (HTSI): Producer
Jason Dworkin (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Jamie Cook (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
William Brinckerhoff (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Jennifer Eigenbrode (NASA/GSFC): Scientist
Chris Meaney (HTSI): Videographer
Victoria Weeks (HTSI): Videographer
Chris Smith (HTSI): Writer

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10620

This item is part of this series:
Narrated Movies

Keywords:
SVS >> HDTV
DLESE >> Narrated
SVS >> Mass Spectrometry
SVS >> Planetary Science
NASA Science >> Planets and Moons