The Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer on the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission

Mars has lost most of its once-abundant water to space, leaving the planet cold and dry. In standard models, molecular hydrogen produced from water in the lower atmosphere diffuses into the upper atmosphere where it is dissociated, producing atomic hydrogen, which is lost. Using observations from the Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer on the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft, we demonstrate that water is instead transported directly to the upper atmosphere, then dissociated by ions to produce atomic hydrogen. The water abundance in the upper atmosphere varied seasonally, peaking in southern summer, and surged during dust storms, including the 2018 global dust storm. We calculate that this transport of water dominates the present-day loss of atomic hydrogen to space and influenced the evolution of Mars’ climate.

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Initial Calibration Results of the NIM Flight Spare Mass spectrometer for Exploration of Jupiter’s Icy Moons Exospheres

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-3821 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Martina Föhn ◽

Marek Tulej ◽

André Galli ◽

Audrey Helena Vorburger ◽

Davide Lasi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometer ◽

Surface Composition ◽

European Space Agency ◽

Ion Source ◽

Icy Moons ◽

Neutral Particles ◽

Neutral Gas ◽

High Speeds ◽

Space Agency ◽

Ionization Region

The search for life is one of the key topics in modern space science. The JUICE mission of the European Space Agency ESA will investigate Jupiter and its icy moons Ganymede, Callisto and Europa, with Europa being an example of a potentially habitable world around a giant gas planet. The Particle and Environment Package, PEP, on board of the JUICE spacecraft will investigate Jupiter&#8217;s icy moons and their environment. The Neutral gas and Ion Mass spectrometer NIM will investigate the icy moon&#8217;s exospheres to investigate their formation and the interaction processes of the exospheres with the moons&#8217; surface and Jupiter&#8217;s strong magnetic field. It will enhance our understanding of the processes involved in the interactions of ion bombardment on the icy moons' surfaces. From these measurements, we will derive the moons&#8217; surface composition and their formation processes.NIM is a time-of-flight mass spectrometer with two particle entrances: an open-source entrance to measure neutral particles and ions directly and a close source entrance where neutral particles get thermalized before entering the sensor&#8217;s ionization region. This allows detecting of particles with high speeds. NIM has a specially designed ion storage source and an ion-mirror to double the flight distance of the produced ions by keeping the sensor at a minimal size.In this contribution, we show calibration results of the NIM flight spare instrument on one hand operated with laboratory and on the other operated with flight electronics. We demonstrate the performance of NIMs ion-source, verify the performance of the closed-source antechamber. NIM has a demonstrated mass resolution of m/&#916;m 800.

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Neutral gas composition of the upper atmosphere by a rocket-borne mass spectrometer

Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres ◽

10.1029/jz061i003p00576 ◽

1956 ◽

Vol 61 (3) ◽

pp. 576-577 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Edith B. Meadows ◽

John W. Townsend

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometer ◽

Upper Atmosphere ◽

Gas Composition ◽

Neutral Gas

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A neutral gas mass spectrometer to measure the chemical composition of the stratosphere

Advances in Space Research ◽

10.1016/j.asr.2009.06.016 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 44 (7) ◽

pp. 870-878 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

D. Abplanalp ◽

P. Wurz ◽

L. Huber ◽

I. Leya ◽

E. Kopp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chemical Composition ◽

Mass Spectrometer ◽

Neutral Gas

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Pioneer Venus Sounder Probe Neutral Gas Mass Spectrometer

IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing ◽

10.1109/tgrs.1980.350286 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol GE-18 (1) ◽

pp. 80-84 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

J. H. Hoffman ◽

R. R. Hodges ◽

W. W. Wright ◽

V. A. Blevins ◽

K. D. Duerksen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometer ◽

Neutral Gas

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First measurements of composition and dynamics of the Martian ionosphere by MAVEN's Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer

Geophysical Research Letters ◽

10.1002/2015gl066146 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 42 (21) ◽

pp. 8958-8965 ◽

Cited By ~ 77

Author(s):

M. Benna ◽

P. R. Mahaffy ◽

J. M. Grebowsky ◽

J. L. Fox ◽

R. V. Yelle ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometer ◽

Neutral Gas ◽

Martian Ionosphere

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A neutral gas mass spectrometer for the investigation of lunar volatiles

Planetary and Space Science ◽

10.1016/j.pss.2012.05.016 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 74 (1) ◽

pp. 264-269 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

P. Wurz ◽

D. Abplanalp ◽

M. Tulej ◽

H. Lammer

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometer ◽

Neutral Gas

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Development of the NIM Mass spectrometer for Exploration of Jupiter’s Icy Moons Exospheres

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-2955 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Martina Föhn ◽

Marek Tulej ◽

André Galli ◽

Audrey Helena Vorburger ◽

Davide Lasi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometer ◽

Surface Composition ◽

Ion Source ◽

High Mass ◽

Performance Tests ◽

Icy Moons ◽

Neutral Particles ◽

Set Constraints ◽

Neutral Gas ◽

Closed Source

Investigation of habitable environments is one of the main objectives in upcoming space missions. The JUICE mission will investigate Jupiter&#8217;s environment in the solar system and its icy moons Ganymede, Callisto and Europa as examples for potentially habitable worlds around a gas giant. The Particle Environment Package (PEP) on the JUICE satellite will investigate Jupiter&#8217;s icy moons and their environment. As part of PEP, the Neutral gas and Ion Mass spectrometer (NIM) will measure the chemical composition of the exospheres of the icy moons. These measurements give information about the surface composition of the moons and will set constraints on their formation processes.NIM is a Time of Flight mass spectrometer with two entrances for neutral particles and ions. The gas enters the instrument from spacecraft ram direction. With the open source neutral particles and ions enter the ionisation region directly. With the closed source neutral particles get thermalized using an antechamber before entering the ion source. Particles entering with higher velocity are therefore easier to detect through the antechamber.Initial performance tests with the NIM Protoflight Model (PFM) were done. The storage capability of the ion&#160;source was tested, the functionality of the antechamber was verified and we measured masses up to 642 u to demonstrate the high-mass performance of NIM. Furthermore, different subunits of the NIM instrument were successfully tested, such as the redesigned ion source and flight electronics connected with the NIM sensor head.

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