IGLUNA
the project teams
P14 – LDMS FOR LIFE
Ice sample analysis
“We want to demonstrate that Laser Desorption Mass Spectrometry is the next generation instrumentation for finding life on icy bodies in our Solar System.”
about.
Since the first Viking mission in the 1970s on our neighbour planet Mars, the detection of signatures of life challenges space research. Our mission is to demonstrate that our instrument has the measurement capabilities for the detection and identification of molecules that are related to life in ice samples at very low concentration. Through the implementation of a cryogenic cooling system to our existing and operational instrument, the extremely cold environments on Solar system bodies can be mimicked which, in turn, allows us to validate our system under realistic conditions for future space exploration missions.
Our ORIGIN laser desorption mass spectrometer will be placed on a moving 3D-printed rover scale-model.