Scientists from the Faculty of Electronics, Photonics and Microsystems of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology will develop a miniature mass spectrometer to analyze the composition of the gas atmosphere. They obtained 450,000 for research euro from the European Space Agency.
A spectrometer is a device used to study substances in various states of aggregation using the mass spectrum of atoms and molecules of which a given substance consists. Currently, scientists use various types of spectrometers in physics, chemistry, medicine and environmental protection.
The mass spectrometer developed in Wrocław will be a miniature analytical instrument designed to analyze the composition of the gas atmosphere. In practice, it means that it can measure wherever the pressure is at least two orders of magnitude higher than the space vacuum. Therefore, it can be used to study the atmosphere of planets, asteroids, moons and to study the environment of spacecraft.
