A novel laser desorption mass spectrometry technique for the in-situ detection of biomolecules on space missions
1 : Center for Space and Habitability, University of Bern
2 : Space Research and Planetary Sciences, Physics Institute, University of Bern
3 : Interfacial Electrochemistry Group, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern
4 : Life Support and Physical Sciences Instrumentation Section, European Space Agency, ESTEC
5 : Sackler laboratory for astrophysics, Leiden Observatory, Leiden University
* : Corresponding author
In this talk, we present a novel Laser Desorption – Mass Spectrometry (LDMS) system, for the in-situ investigation of biomolecules on surfaces of solar-system objects. Specifically developed for space exploration, the system consists of a miniature Time-of-Flight MS and single laser desorption / ionization scheme. The first measurements performed on amino acids show these are identified by unique, sparse mass features and at a sensitivity down to 10 femtomole.
| Subject : | : | Poster |
| Topics | : | Space missions |
| PDF version | : |  PDF version |
