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The Mars Organic Molecule Analyser (MOMA) is a
mass spectrometer
Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a '' mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is us ...
-based instrument on board the
''Rosalind Franklin'' rover to be launched in 2028 to
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...
on an
astrobiology
Astrobiology, and the related field of exobiology, is an interdisciplinary scientific field that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology is the multidisciplinary field that invest ...
mission.
s (carbon-containing molecules) in the collected soil samples. By characterizing the molecular structures of detected organics, MOMA can provide insights into potential molecular
biosignature
A biosignature (sometimes called chemical fossil or molecular fossil) is any substance – such as an element, isotope, or molecule – or phenomenon that provides scientific evidence of past or present life. Measurable attribute ...
s. MOMA will be able to detect organic molecules at concentrations as low as 10 parts-per-billion by weight (ppbw).
MOMA examines solid crushed samples exclusively; it does not perform atmospheric analyses.
The Principal Investigator is Fred Goesmann, from the
Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
.
Overview
The goal of MOMA is to seek signs of past
life on Mars
The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no proof of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ...
(biosignatures) by analysing a wide range of
organic compound
In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. Th ...
s that may be found in drilled samples acquired from 2 meters below the Martian surface by the
''Rosalind Franklin'' rover. MOMA examines solid crushed samples only; it does not perform atmospheric analyses.
MOMA will first volatilize solid organic compounds so that they can be analysed by a
mass spectrometer
Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a '' mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is us ...
; this volatilisation of organic material is achieved by two different techniques:
laser desorption and thermal volatilisation, followed by separation using four
GC-MS columns. The identification of the organic molecules is then performed with an
ion trap mass spectrometer
A quadrupole ion trap or paul trap is a type of ion trap that uses dynamic electric fields to trap charged particles. They are also called radio frequency (RF) traps or Paul traps in honor of Wolfgang Paul, who invented the device and shared the N ...
.
Organic biosignatures
While there is no unambiguous Martian biosignature to look for, a pragmatic approach is to look out for certain molecules such as
lipids
Lipids are a broad group of naturally-occurring molecules which includes fats, waxes, sterols, fat-soluble vitamins (such as vitamins A, D, E and K), monoglycerides, diglycerides, phospholipids, and others. The functions of lipids in ...
and
phospholipid
Phospholipids, are a class of lipids whose molecule has a hydrophilic "head" containing a phosphate group and two hydrophobic "tails" derived from fatty acids, joined by an alcohol residue (usually a glycerol molecule). Marine phospholipids typ ...
s that may be forming
cell membrane
The cell membrane (also known as the plasma membrane (PM) or cytoplasmic membrane, and historically referred to as the plasmalemma) is a biological membrane that separates and protects the interior of all cells from the outside environment (t ...
s which can be preserved over geological timescales.
Lipids and other organic molecules may exhibit biogenic features that are not present in abiogenic organic material. If biogenic (synthesized by a life form), such compounds may be found at high concentrations only over a narrow range of molecular weights, unlike in carbonaceous meteorites where these compounds are detected over a broader range of molecular weights.
In the case of sugars and
amino acid
Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha ...
s, excessive molecular
homochirality
Homochirality is a uniformity of chirality, or handedness. Objects are chiral when they cannot be superposed on their mirror images. For example, the left and right hands of a human are approximately mirror images of each other but are not their ow ...
(asymmetry) is another important clue of their biological origin.
The assumption is that life on Mars would be carbon-based and cellular as on Earth, so there are expected common building blocks such as chains of amino acids (
peptide
Peptides (, ) are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Long chains of amino acids are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty amino acids are called oligopeptides, and include dipeptides, tripeptides, and tetrapeptides. ...
s and
proteins
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
) and chains of nucleobases (
RNA,
DNA, or their analogs). Also, some
isomers
In chemistry, isomers are molecules or polyatomic ions with identical molecular formulae – that is, same number of atoms of each element – but distinct arrangements of atoms in space. Isomerism is existence or possibility of isomers. ...
of high molecular weight organics can be potential biosignatures when identified in context with other supporting evidence. Other compounds targeted for detection will include
fatty acid
In chemistry, particularly in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, f ...
s,
sterol
Sterol is an organic compound with formula , whose molecule is derived from that of gonane by replacement of a hydrogen atom in position 3 by a hydroxyl group. It is therefore an alcohol of gonane. More generally, any compounds that contain the go ...
s, and
hopanoids.
Background organics
The surface of Mars is expected to have accumulated significant quantities of large organic molecules delivered by interplanetary dust particles and carbonaceous meteorites.
MOMA's characterization of this fraction, may determine not only the abundance of this potential background for trace biomarker detection, but also the degree of decomposition of this matter by radiation and oxidation as a function of depth.
[Detecting Organics with the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) on the 2018 ExoMars Rover]
(PDF). H. Steininger, F. Goesmann, F. Raulin, W. B. Brinckerhoff, MOMA Team. This is essential in order to interpret the samples' origin in the local geological and geochemical context.
[
]
Development
The components of MOMA related to GC-MS have heritage from the ''Viking'' landers, the COSAC on board the comet lander ''Philae'', and SAM on board the ''Curiosity'' rover.perchlorates
A perchlorate is a chemical compound containing the perchlorate ion, . The majority of perchlorates are commercially produced salts. They are mainly used as oxidizers for pyrotechnic devices and to control static electricity in food packaging. Per ...
, known to be abundant on the surface of Mars.[ Tandem mass spectrometry can then be used to further characterize these molecules.]mass spectrometer
Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a '' mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is us ...
(MS) and the main electronics of MOMA are provided by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory located approximately northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States. Established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center, GSFC empl ...
, while the gas chromatography
Gas chromatography (GC) is a common type of chromatography used in analytical chemistry for separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without decomposition. Typical uses of GC include testing the purity of a particular substanc ...
(GC) is provided by the two French institutes LISA and LATMOS. The UV-Laser is being developed by the Laser Zentrum Hannover.Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space () is a Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer. A joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%), the company is the largest satellite manufactur ...
in Italy.
References
External links
* (NASA; 24 May 2018))
{{Use British English, date=December 2017
ExoMars
Spacecraft instruments
Astrobiology
Space science experiments