The ESA PROSPECT Payload for Luna27: Development Status

<p><strong>1. Abstract</strong></p> <p>This presentation will outline the development status of the PROSPECT payload for Lun27 and highlight the science goals and some of the work on-going to ensure that these goals can be met.</p> <p><strong>2. Introduction</strong></p> <p>The Package for Resource Observation and in-Situ Prospecting for Exploration, Commercial exploitation and Transportation (PROSPECT) is a payload in development by ESA for use at the lunar surface. Current development is for flight on the Russian-led Luna-Resource Lander (Luna 27) mission, which will target the south polar region of the Moon. PROSPECT will perform an assessment of volatile inventory in near surface regolith (down to ~ 1 m), and analyses to determine the abundance and origin of any volatiles discovered. Lunar polar volatiles present compelling science and exploration objectives for PROSPECT, but solar wind-implanted volatiles and oxygen in lunar minerals (extracted via ISRU techniques) constitute potential science return anywhere on the Moon, independently of a polar landing site. PROSPECT is comprised of the ProSEED drill module and the ProSPA analytical laboratory plus the Solids Inlet System (SIS), a carousel of sealable ovens (for evolving volatiles from regolith).</p> <p>In ensemble, PROSPECT has a number of sensors and instruments (including ion-trap and magnetic sector mass spectrometers, imagers, and sensors for temperature, pressure, and permittivity) that form the basis for a range of science investigations that are (almost all) led by the PROSPECT Science Team:</p> <ul> <li>Imaging, Surface Modelling and Spectral Analysis</li> <li>Drilling, Geotechnics and Sample Handling</li> <li>ProSPA ISRU Precursor Experiments</li> <li>ProSPA ISRU Prospecting</li> <li>ProSPA Light Elements & Isotopes</li> <li>ProSPA Noble Gases</li> <li>Thermal Environment and Volatile Preservation</li> <li>Permittivity (ESA-led)</li> </ul> <p><strong>3. Development status and current activities</strong></p> <p>PROSPECT Phase C, ‘detailed definition’, began in December 2019. A plan of research activities is in progress to gain from and guide on-going development, build strategic scientific knowledge, and to prepare for operation of the payload.</p> <p><em>Drill Testing.</em> Testing of the ProSEED Development Model was carried out in December 2019 as part of the final Phase B activities. Test procedures were formulated to demonstrate drilling and sampling functionality in ambient, cold and thermal vacuum (TV) laboratory conditions (at CISAS, University of Padova). Tests included drilling into, and sampling from, well-characterized NU-LHT-2M simulant mixed with anorthosite inclusions of various sizes, according to a layered scheme that describe depth-density profile and distribution of inclusions and a range of plausible water ice contents.</p> <p><em>ProSPA Bench Development Model (BDM)</em>. The BDM of the ProSPA analytical lab at the Open University has been tested to demonstrate science performance against measurement requirements. Dedicated efforts in 2019 focused on verification of evolved gas analysis (EGA) via measurement of meteorite standards, constraint of oxygen yield via demonstration of ISRU capabilities, improving understanding of sensitivity of science requirements to regolith volatile abundance and possible contamination, and understanding the performance of oven seal materials.</p> <p><strong>4. Volatile preservation</strong></p> <p>Particular efforts since 2018 have focused on understanding the capability of PROSPECT to sufficiently preserve volatile content in regolith throughout the sampling-analysis chain: from drilling to sealing of the ovens, until measurement of evolved gases in ProSPA’s ion-trap and magnetic sector mass spectrometers. PROSPECT’s ability to meet science requirements must persist for the range of possible volatile contents expected in near-surface regolith at landing sites in the lunar south polar region.</p>

From the discovery of field ionization to field desorption and liquid injection field desorption/ionization-mass spectrometry—A journey from principles and applications to a glimpse into the future

The discovery of the ionizing effect of strong electric fields in the order of volts per Ångstrom in the early 1950s eventually led to the development of field ionization-mass spectrometry (FI-MS). Due to the very low ion currents, and thus, limited by the instrumentation of the 1960s, it took some time for the, by then, new technique to become adopted for analytical applications. In FI-MS, volatile or at least vaporizable samples mainly deliver molecular ions, and consequently, mass spectra showing no or at least minor numbers of fragment ion signals. The next major breakthrough was achieved by overcoming the need to evaporate the analyte prior to ionization. This was accomplished in the early 1970s by simply depositing the samples onto the field emitter and led to field desorption-mass spectrometry (FD-MS). With FD-MS, a desorption ionization method had become available that paved the road to the mass spectral analysis of larger molecules of low to high polarity and even of organic salts. In FD-MS, all of these analytes deliver spectra with no or at least few fragment ion peaks. The last milestone was the development of liquid injection field desorption/ionization (LIFDI) in the early 2000s that allows for sample deposition under the exclusion of atmospheric oxygen and water. In addition to sampling under inert conditions, LIFDI also enables more robust and quicker operation than classical FI-MS and FD-MS procedures. The development and applications of FI, FD, and LIFDI had mutual interference with the mass analyzers that were used in combination with these methods. Vice versa, the demand for using these techniques on other than magnetic sector instruments has effectuated their adaptation to different types of modern mass analyzers. The journey started with magnetic sector instruments, almost skipped quadrupole analyzers, encompassed Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) and orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight (oaTOF) analyzers, and finally arrived at Orbitraps. Even interfaces for continuous-flow LIFDI have been realized. Even though being niche techniques to some degree, one may be confident that FI, FD, and LIFDI have a promising future ahead of them. This Account takes you on the journey from principles and applications of the title methods to a glimpse into the future.

The ESA Prospect Payload for Luna 27: Development Status

<p><strong>Introduction</strong></p><p>The Package for Resource Observation and in-Situ Prospecting for Exploration, Commercial exploitation and Transportation (PROSPECT) is a payload in development by ESA for use at the lunar surface. Current development is for flight on the Russian-led Luna-Resource Lander (Luna 27) mission, which will target the south polar region of the Moon. PROSPECT will perform an assessment of volatile inventory in near surface regolith (down to ~ 1 m), and analyses to determine the abundance and origin of any volatiles discovered. Lunar polar volatiles present compelling science and exploration objectives for PROSPECT, but solar wind-implanted volatiles and oxygen in lunar minerals (extracted via ISRU techniques) constitute potential science return anywhere on the Moon, independently of a polar landing site. PROSPECT is comprised of the ProSEED drill module and the ProSPA analytical laboratory plus the Solids Inlet System (SIS), a carousel of sealable ovens (for evolving volatiles from regolith).</p><p>In ensemble, PROSPECT has a number of sensors and instruments (including ion-trap and magnetic sector mass spectrometers, imagers, and sensors for temperature, pressure, and permittivity) that form the basis for a range of science investigations that are (almost all) led by the PROSPECT Science Team:</p><ul><li>Imaging, Surface Modelling and Spectral Analysis</li> <li>Drilling, Geotechnics and Sample Handling</li> <li>ProSPA ISRU Precursor Experiments</li> <li>ProSPA ISRU Prospecting</li> <li>ProSPA Light Elements & Isotopes</li> <li>ProSPA Noble Gases</li> <li>Thermal Environment and Volatile Preservation</li> <li>Permittivity (ESA-led)</li> </ul><p><strong>Development status and current activities</strong></p><p>PROSPECT Phase C, ‘detailed definition’, began in December 2019. An plan of research activities is in progress to gain from and guide ongoing development, build strategic scientific knowledge, and to prepare for operation of the payload.</p><p><em><strong>Drill Testing.</strong></em> Testing of the ProSEED Development Model was carried out in December 2019 as part of the final Phase B activities. Test procedures were formulated to demonstrate drilling and sampling functionality in ambient, cold and thermal vacuum (TV) laboratory conditions (at CISAS, University of Padova). Tests included drilling into, and sampling from, well-characterized NU-LHT-2M simulant mixed with anorthosite inclusions of various sizes, according to a layered scheme that describe depth-density profile and distribution of inclusions and a range of plausible water ice contents.</p><p><strong><em>ProSPA Bench Development Model (BDM).</em></strong> The BDM of the ProSPA analytical lab at the Open University has been tested to demonstrate science performance against measurement requirements. Dedicated efforts in 2019 focused on verification of evolved gas analysis (EGA) via measurement of meteorite standards, constraint of oxygen yield via demonstration of ISRU capabilities, improving understanding of sensitivity of science requirements to regolith volatile abundance and possible contamination, and understanding the performance of oven seal materials.</p><p><em><strong>Volatile Preservation.</strong></em> Particular efforts since 2018 have focused on understanding the capability of PROSPECT to sufficiently preserve volatile content in regolith throughout the sampling-analysis chain: from drilling to sealing of the ovens, until measurement of evolved gases in ProSPA’s ion-trap and magnetic sector mass spectrometers. PROSPECT’s ability to meet science requirements must persist for the range of possible volatile contents expected in near-surface regolith at landing sites in the lunar south polar region.</p>

Real-time characterization of mammalian cell culture bioprocesses by magnetic sector MS

Mammalian cell culture processes were characterized upon the analysis of the exhaust-gas composition achieved through the on-line integration of a magnetic sector MS analyser with benchtop bioreactors.