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Performances under representative pressure and temperature conditions of the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry space experiment to investigate Titan's atmospheric composition

Authors :
Robert Sternberg
François Raulin
G. Freguglia
Patrice Coll
C. Pietrogrande
Cyril Szopa
Hasso B. Niemann
M.-J. Nguyen
Service d'aéronomie (SA)
Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA (UMR_7583))
Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12 (UPEC UP12)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Department of Chemistry [Ferrara]
Università degli Studi di Ferrara (UniFE)
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
Università degli Studi di Ferrara = University of Ferrara (UniFE)
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)
Université Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne - Paris 12 (UPEC UP12)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
University of Ferrara [Ferrara]
Source :
Journal of Chromatography A, Journal of Chromatography A, Elsevier, 2006, 1131 (1-2), pp.215-226. ⟨10.1016/j.chroma.2006.07.064⟩, Journal of Chromatography A, 2006, 1131 (1-2), pp.215-226. ⟨10.1016/j.chroma.2006.07.064⟩
Publication Year :
2006
Publisher :
HAL CCSD, 2006.

Abstract

In the frame of the calibration of the aerosol collector and pyrolyser, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry experiments of the Huygens probe arrived at Titan, systematic experimental studies were led to estimate the influence of the operating conditions on the analyses that should have been achieved in the Titan's atmosphere. The primary objective of this study was to estimate the influence of operating conditions variations induced by (i) instrumental modifications made shortly before the probe launch which can have changed the operating pressures; (ii) the change of the probe environmental conditions (pressure, temperature) during its descent in the atmosphere; (iii) a possible deviation of pressure and temperature regulations from their nominal values because of the long journey of the instrument in space, or of other external events. The secondary objective of this work was to create an analytical database that can be used as a reference to treat the chromatograms obtained in situ, and help to identify chromatographically the analyzed species, complementary to mass spectrometry. Beyond the application to a specific instrument, this work was also useful to experimentally estimate the fundamental evolution of the separation as a function of the changes of operating conditions with time. The obtained results show (i) the significant influence of inlet and outlet pressure variation on the time of analysis, but not on the separation power. It thus enables to significantly shorten the analysis duration, and thus to analyze more compounds within the fixed time of analysis of the instrument; (ii) the significant influence of temperature on the retention. In this frame, the enthalpies of exchange between the gas phase and the stationary phase of the species were determined to be used to retrieve the analyzed species in case of deviation of the operating temperature; (iii) that the possible aging of the columns does not have influence on the columns efficiency and separation power; (iv) the analytical capabilities of the gas chromatography-mass spectrometry experiment within operating conditions representative of those encountered in situ. Finally, in spite of possible operating condition changes, it is shown that results coming from the gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer experiment, which are currently under analysis, could bring important information on the Titan's atmosphere and its history.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00219673 and 18733778
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Journal of Chromatography A, Journal of Chromatography A, Elsevier, 2006, 1131 (1-2), pp.215-226. ⟨10.1016/j.chroma.2006.07.064⟩, Journal of Chromatography A, 2006, 1131 (1-2), pp.215-226. ⟨10.1016/j.chroma.2006.07.064⟩
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....e32ce90be4b548b9568bb7e7349de50e
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chroma.2006.07.064⟩