Instrument

Laser Ablation Mass Spectrometer – LASMA-LR

Mass spectrometers are considered as gold standard in planetary science for sensitive chemical composition analysis. It was realised that in situ chemical composition measurements are necessary for the next level of understanding our planetary system, its origin and evolution. The University of Bern contributes to the lunar missions LUNA Glob and LUNA Resurs mission with the Laser Ablation Mass Spectrometer LASMA-LR. The instrument was developed in collaboration with the Space Research Institute of Russia and the POLYRUS Research Institute of Russia.

The LASMA-LR is a time-of-flight laser ablation mass spectrometer for the investigation of soil samples collected in the vicinity of the landed spacecraft.