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2020 will be a banner year
for the exploration of Mars.

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In addition to the launch of
NASA's Mars 2020 rover, the

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European Space Agency and
Roscosmos are sending the

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ExoMars rover to the red planet.

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As it descends from its landing
platform, ExoMars will embark on

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an enterprising mission: to
uncover buried signs of past or

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present life.

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The Martian surface is a harsh
environment, bombarded with

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cosmic radiation, but the
subsurface

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could offer better protection.

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For this reason, ExoMars is
equipped with an extending drill

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that can retrieve samples
from up to two meters

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below the surface.

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Studying these samples will be
the job of the Analytical Lab, a

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trio of instruments designed
to search for the molecular

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fingerprints of life.

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The Mars Organic Molecule
Analyzer, or MOMA, is the

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largest and most complex
instrument on the rover.

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Its mass spectrometer subsystem
and its main electronics were

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built and tested at NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center,

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which also contributed
mass spectrometers to NASA's

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Curiosity rover
and MAVEN orbiter.

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MOMA is designed with a mix of
proven hardware and innovative

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new technologies.

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Here's how it works: in gas
chromatograph mode, crushed

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Martian rock is put into an
oven and heated to 900 degrees

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Celsius in just two
minutes, vaporizing the sample.

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Molecules of hot gas rise up,
and flow into a narrow, twenty

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meter-long tube.

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Special coatings inside the tube
cause molecules with certain

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chemistries to slow down more
than others, separating the

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mixture of molecules over time.

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Next, a beam of electrons
ionizes the molecules, giving

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them a positive electric charge
and deflecting them towards the

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linear ion trap.

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The ions are caught by a
fluctuating electric field, and

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sent to a detector to
determine their chemical makeup.

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While gas chromatography has
been used to study Mars since

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the Viking program, MOMA has
a second method for preparing

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samples that has never
been used on another planet.

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In laser desorption mode, a
sample is placed beneath a

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powerful ultraviolet laser.

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A beam of energetic light builds
within the laser and fires in a

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billionth of a second,
concentrating its energy onto a

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spot smaller than
a grain of sand.

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This rapidly vaporizes a portion
of the sample, releasing large

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organic molecules that could
be broken down by oven heating.

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The laser shot also ionizes some
of the molecules, allowing the

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vapor to head directly
to the linear ion trap.

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Neutral molecules are ejected
by a vacuum, while the remaining

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ions are sent to the detector to
determine their chemical makeup.

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Laser desorption will enable
MOMA to detect long molecules

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like lipids, the building
blocks of cell membranes, a leap

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forward in the
search for life on Mars.

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MOMA's linear ion trap is
another first

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for the red  planet.

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It will scan for the
fingerprints of life using

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techniques normally confined
to laboratories on Earth.

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One technique, called SWIFT,
repeatedly ejects unwanted

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molecules from the trap.

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Over time this builds up
molecules of interest,

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improving detection.

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Another technique is tandem mass
spectrometry, or MS/MS, which

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identifies large molecules
by breaking them apart and

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analyzing their fragments.

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By combining SWIFT and MS/MS,
MOMA can determine an individual

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molecule's formula and its
structure, both important

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criteria in the search for life.

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The question of life on Mars
is among the most important in

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planetary science, and the
evidence may be buried just

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below the surface.

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With the help of MOMA, ExoMars
will take us one step closer to

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uncovering the answer.

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[music]

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[satellite beeping]