All the features of the mass spectrometer inlet are drawn from the years of experience gained by studying gases released by stepped combustion from a variety of samples on Earth.
They however have been miniaturised according to a philosophy
called Modulus (methods of determining and understanding light
elements from unequivocal stable isotope measurements) developed
for The Open University's Planetary and Space Sciences Research
Institute's other space mission instrument involvement, the
ESA Rosetta cometary rendezvous and landing.
The mass spectrometer will operate in static vacuum mode employing a procedure, which for 20 years has enabled PSSRI to lead the world in terms of sensitivity.
Britain has a long tradition of building mass spectrometers
stretching back to Nobel Laureate F.W. Aston in 1919, and
a commercial industry which is a major export earner - many
of the companies involved are doing their bit for Beagle 2.
