Gas Chromatography in Space Exploration

Gas chromatography (GC) has proved to be the best analytical technique for the in situ search for organic molecules in extraterrestrial environments since it meets the severe requirements imposed by flight conditions: short analysis time and low energy consumption, robustness, storage for long durations under extreme conditions, high in efficiency and sensitivity, automation, remote control operations. Exploration of our solar system has been fundamentally motivated by the search for chemical biomarkers for evidence of extinct or extant life. GC instruments have been successfully installed on probes of in situ space exploration: the payload also included pyr-GC/MS system composed of a pyrolyzer (pyr) device for analyzing organic compounds in atmosphere and soil at ppb concentration levels. This chapter describes three relevant applications concerning the on-board GC instruments for Cassini–Huygens mission to Titan, Rosetta to Comet P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and to Mars space exploration program.