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VAPoR - Volatile Analysis by Pyrolysis of Regolith - an Instrument for In Situ Detection of Water, Noble Gases, and Organics on the MoonWe present the Volatile Analysis by Pyrolysis of Regolith (VAPoR) instrument design and demonstrate the validity of an in situ pyrolysis mass spectrometer for evolved gas analyses of lunar and planetary regolith samples. In situ evolved gas analyses of the lunar regolith have not yet been carried out and no atmospheric or evolved gas measurements have been made at the lunar poles. VAPoR is designed to do both kinds of measurements, is currently under development at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and will be able to heat powdered regolith samples or rock drill fines up to 1400 C in vacuo. To validate the instrument concept, evolved gas species released from different planetary analogs were determined as a function of temperature using a laboratory breadboard. Evolved gas measurements of an Apollo 16 regolith sample and a fragment of the carbonaceous meteorite Murchison were made by VAPoR and our results compared with existing data. The results imply that in situ evolved gas measurements of the lunar regolith at the polar regions by VAPoR will be a very powerful tool for identifying water and other volatile signatures of lunar or exogenous origin as potential resources for future human exploration.
Document ID
20100032907
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
ten Kate, I. L.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Cardiff, E. H.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Feng, S. H.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Holmes, V.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Malespin, C.
(Auburn Univ. AL, United States)
Stern, J. G.
(Georgia Inst. of Tech. Atlanta, GA, United States)
Swindle, T. D.
(Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Glavin, D. P.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
June 1, 2010
Publication Information
Publication: Planetary and Space Science
Volume: 58
Issue: 8-Jul
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: 07-ASTID07-0020
CONTRACT_GRANT: 06-LSS006-0002
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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