Instrument from the University of Bern flies to the Moon

LIMS (Laser Ionization Mass Spectrometer is going to be used for the chemical study of lunar rocks © University of Bern , Photo: Peter Keresztes Schmidt - Following the success of the Bern solar wind sail on the Apollo Moon missions of the U.S. space agency NASA in the 1960s, the Physics Institute at the University of Bern is to return to the Moon as early as 2027 with the LIMS mass spectrometer as part of the NASA Commercial Lunar Payoad A highly sensitive instrument for measurements on the lunar surface LIMS is a powerful instrument for the examination of a wide variety of samples which meets scientific lunar objectives. Andreas Riedo, Senior Project Manager for LIMS at the Space Research and Planetary Sciences WP Division of the Physics Institute, explains: "LIMS uses a pulsed laser system. The laser pulses are focused through the instrument and directed at a sample of scientific interest that we want to study." With each laser pulse, a small layer of the sample is detached, and some of the detached material becomes positively charged. "These positively charged particles are sent back into the system, where the chemical composition is measured. This means that we measure the chemical elements and their isotopes, which then enable us, among others, to understand the chemical and physical processes on the Moon," continues Andreas Riedo. LIMS is to be installed on a CLPS vendor lunar lander platform, which will house a variety of instruments for lunar exploration and technology demonstrations.