{"id":255041,"date":"2025-12-28T03:23:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T03:23:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/255041\/"},"modified":"2025-12-28T03:23:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T03:23:16","slug":"tricorder-tech-laser-ablation-sampling-with-low%e2%80%90power-plasma-a-la%e2%80%90mip%e2%80%90ms-instrument-for-spaceflight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/255041\/","title":{"rendered":"Tricorder Tech: Laser Ablation Sampling With Low\u2010Power Plasma: A LA\u2010MIP\u2010MS Instrument for Spaceflight"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n Status Report <\/p>\n

\n Rapid Communications In Mass Spectrometry via PubMed <\/p>\n

\n December 27, 2025 <\/p>\n

\"Tricorder<\/p>\n

\n Computer-aided design (CAD) model cross section of the MIP-MS prototype constructed for this study, including the MIP torch and ion source, ion optics, reaction cell, and quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS). \u2014 Rapid Communications In Mass Spectrometry <\/p>\n

Rationale<\/strong><\/p>\n

Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) is a commonly used ion source for mass spectrometry\u2010based chemical analysis of a wide range of materials. Traditional ICP ion sources use high power (>\u20091000\u2009W) and significant gas flow (>\u200910\u2009L\/min), rendering them unsuitable for spaceflight, as they are too resource\u2010intensive for planetary spacecraft.<\/p>\n

Methods<\/strong><\/p>\n

To address the technology gap, we designed and developed a laser ablation microwave\u2010induced plasma mass spectrometer (LA\u2010MIP\u2010MS) and experimentally validated the analytical performance of a prototype instrument capable of providing in situ analyses during planetary science missions. We developed a low\u2010pressure plasma ion source and interfaced it to a heritage quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) to perform elemental and isotopic analysis of solid samples via laser ablation. The low power plasma ion source was generated at <\/p>\n

Results<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our experiments confirmed quantification accuracy for stainless steel within 1.4\u20134% of values measured by x\u2010ray fluorescence (XRF), with precision ranging from \u00b19.1 to 22% (2\u03c3m). Cu and Ni isotopic ratios were measured with \u00b10.8\u20133% (2\u03c3m) precision and reproducibility ranging from 0.12% to 11.8%. Measured limits of detection ranged from 21 ppmw for 57Fe to 780 ppmw for 54Fe, with limits of detection for Cr, Mn, and Ni below 240 ppmw.<\/p>\n

Conclusions<\/strong><\/p>\n

This technique adds to the roster of instrumentation available for planetary missions by enabling elemental and isotopic analysis with orders of magnitude less power and plasma gas relative to commercial ICP\u2010MS systems. This work paves the way for low resource LA\u2010MIP\u2010MS instruments as a viable technique to be applied to a wide range of applications for terrestrial and spaceflight chemical analysis of geologic materials.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Schematic of LA\u2010MIP\u2010MS constructed for this study. Table 1 provides typical data for lens voltages, forward power, gas type and flow rates, and laser parameters. \u2014 Rapid Communications In Mass Spectrometry<\/strong><\/p>\n

Astrobiology, Tricorder,<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA Space Station Payload manager\/space biologist, Away Teams, Journalist, Lapsed climber, Synaesthete, Na\u2019Vi-Jedi-Freman-Buddhist-mix, ASL, Devon Island and Everest Base Camp veteran, (he\/him) \ud83d\udd96\ud83c\udffb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Status Report Rapid Communications In Mass Spectrometry via PubMed December 27, 2025 Computer-aided design (CAD) model cross section…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":255042,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[18,19,17,133],"class_list":{"0":"post-255041","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-ie","10":"tag-ireland","11":"tag-science"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=255041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/255041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/255042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=255041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=255041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=255041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}