Identification of organic molecules with a laboratory prototype based on the Laser Ablation-CosmOrbitrap

In the Solar System, extra-terrestrial organic molecules have been found on cometary primitive objects, on Titan and Enceladus icy moons and on Mars. Identification could be achieved for simple organic species by remote sensing based on spectroscopic methods. However in situ mass spectrometry is a key technology to determine the nature of more complex organic matter. A large panel of mass spectrometers has already been developed for space exploration combining different types of analysers and ion sources. Up to now the highest mass resolution reached with a space instrument is 9000 at m/z 28 and corresponds to the DFMS-ROSINA instrument (Balsiger et al., 2007) dedicated to the study of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's atmosphere and ionosphere, in a low pressure environment. A new concept of mass analyser offering ultra-high mass resolving power of more than 50,000 at m/z 56 (under high vacuum condition about 10−9 mbar) is currently being developed for space applications: the CosmOrbitrap (Briois et al., 2016), based on the Orbitrap™ technology.