Search for organics in extraterrestrial environments by in situ gas chromatography analysis

Many organic molecules are present in interstellar clouds and might have been carried to the early Earth by comets and meteorites during the heavy bombardment phase in the first few hundred million years of the solar system. It has been suggested that extraterrestrial organic material may represent a part of the organic material available for the origin of life. Until samples, brought by future space missions, are available on Earth, in situ measurements are the only way to get unaltered samples for analysis. The analytical technique has to be robust, sensitive and non-specific due to the large scope of target molecules. Currently the only flight qualified technique of analysis of organic molecules in space is gas chromatography (GC). The main objective of this work is to present the capabilities of a GC based subsystem, developed in our laboratory and including sample treatment and capillary column analysis, for the in situ analysis of volatile and refractory organics in atmospheric (Titan) and/or surface or sub-surface samples (Mars, comets).