Organics Analyzer for Sampling Icy Surfaces: A liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer for future in situ small body missions

Liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) is an important laboratory technique for the detection and analysis of organic molecules with high sensitivity and selectivity. This approach has been especially fruitful in the analysis of nucleobases, amino acids, and measuring amino acid enantiomeric ratios in extraterrestrial materials. We are developing OASIS, Organics Analyzer for Sampling Icy Surfaces, for in situ analysis on future landed missions to astrochemically important icy bodies, such as asteroids, comets, and icy moons. The OASIS design employs a microfabricated, on-chip analytical column to chromatographically separate liquid analytes using known LC stationary phase chemistries. The elution products are then interfaced through spray ionization and analyzed by a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS). A particular advantage of our design is its suitability for microgravity environments, such as for a primitive small body.