Mass-spectrometric in situ studies of cometary organics for p/Halley and options for the future

Adv Space Res. 1995 Mar;15(3):59-63. doi: 10.1016/s0273-1177(99)80064-7.

Abstract

When the VEGA and GIOTTO spacecrafts flew by comet p/Halley in 1986 the mass-spectrometers Puma and PIA measured the composition of cometary dust particles impacting at speeds of well above 65 km/s. Ion formation upon impact lead to mostly atomic ions. However, a small fraction of the ions measured could be related to molecules. A sophisticated analysis allowed for the first time to point to the chemical nature of cometary organics based on actual mass spectra. With the instrument CoMA for the NASA-BMFT mission CRAF much higher mass-resolution and molecule masses become accessible for in situ measurement, and will yield complementary information to the gas chromatograph CIDEX also onboard CRAF.

MeSH terms

  • Astronomical Phenomena
  • Astronomy
  • Carbon / chemistry
  • Cosmic Dust / analysis*
  • Exobiology
  • Extraterrestrial Environment*
  • Hydrocarbons / chemistry
  • Meteoroids*
  • Nitrogen / chemistry
  • Oxygen / chemistry
  • Space Flight
  • Spacecraft / instrumentation
  • Spectrum Analysis

Substances

  • Cosmic Dust
  • Hydrocarbons
  • Carbon
  • Nitrogen
  • Oxygen