The Peregrine Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (PITMS) Investigation Development and Preflight Planning

Cohen, Barbara A.; Barber, Simeon J.; Driggers, Phillip A.; Heather, David; Howe, Christopher; Landsberg, Peter; Morse, Thomas; Trautner, Roland; Abernethy, Feargus; Butroid, Emma-May; Curran, Natalie M.; Delepaut, Christophe; Elliott, Ellis; Fernandez Salgado, Javier; Generie, Joseph A.; Hager, Philipp; Hall, Sophie; Hillier, Fiona; Hodgkins, Max; Iacobellis, Sara; Kasjanowicz, Alicja; Koekkoek, Ewout; Leese, Mark; Lundmark, Karin; Mayers, Jeremy; Morse, Andrew; Mortimer, James; Peabody, Hume L.; Reast, Patrick; Sheridan, Simon; Stamper, Richard; Steigner, Peter J.; Stier, Harald; Summers, Lauren; Tucker, Orenthal J.; Whalley, Martin and Woodward, Simon (2024). The Peregrine Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (PITMS) Investigation Development and Preflight Planning. The Planetary Science Journal, 5(9), article no. 212.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3847/psj/ad6e7b

Abstract

The Peregrine Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer (PITMS) is a mass spectrometer instrument that operated during the Astrobotic Peregrine Mission-1 as part of the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative. This paper describes the instrument and investigation design, development, and planning conducted by the PITMS team, consisting of a successful partnership between NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), The Open University, NASA, and ESA. PITMS was designed to measure the abundance and temporal variability of volatile species in the near-surface lunar exosphere from a landed platform on the lunar surface. The PITMS instrument consisted of a European Space Agency–provided Exospheric Mass Spectrometer (including sensor, electronics, controller, and power supply boards) and a GSFC wrapper that provided structural elements, thermal control, and a deployable dust cover. PITMS was designed to operate as a passive sampler, where ambient gases would enter PITMS through an aperture, diffuse around the mass analyzer cavity, become ionized by electron impact and trapped in an RF field, and then sequentially be released to a detector to build a mass spectrum. PITMS was capable of measuring species with a mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) from 10 to 150 Da, with a mass resolution of approximately 0.5 amu. The PITMS science investigation was planned to be operated by GSFC with an international team of scientists. Though the mission did not achieve its lunar landing, information about the PITMS instrument and planning is provided to be able to understand and effectively use data that will be forthcoming from the investigation.

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