Happy National Star Wars Day

In a search for extra-terrestrial life in a galaxy not so far far away, finding organic molecules in deep space that contain specific elements that are important for life is a topic of special interest.

As the inventor of the first commercial pyrolyser for GCMS systems, CDS Analytical contributed to the development of NASA’s Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) suite on the Curiosity Rover1, that launched over ten years ago.

SAM used pyrolysis to overcome analytical hurdles to firstly thermally extract organic matter with low molecular weight from a piece of inorganic matter sample that is usually insoluble in common solvents, then thermally break carbon bonds in the high molecular weight organic matter and use GCMS and a tuneable laser spectrometer for identification.

An application note from Analytix relating to pyrolysis analysis of a sample taken from the Murchison meteorite which fell in Australia in 1969, demonstrates the ability of pyrolysis for the analysis of geological samples.

Although this application note relates to pyrolysis on a distant planet, in reality the method is suitable for any geological sample on this planet. The possibilities are endless with analytical pyrolysis.

Download the application note.

May the 4th be with you!

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