NASA | The Molecule Dissector - Mass Spectrometry

What do you do if you have a sample from another planet, and you want to find out if it contains a certain molecule...maybe even one that will reveal that the planet can sustain life? When scientists face a situation like this, they employ an amazing tool: the mass spectrometer. It does the hard work of separating out materials, allowing scientists to look very closely at a sample and see what's inside. Learn more about this tool in the video from NASA Goddard's Solar System Exploration Division.

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Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• NASA
• Space
• Science
• Mass Spectrometry
• Solar System
• Goddard
• Mars
• planets
• instruments
• MS
• Chris Smith

[BonScottAC]

Life is like a Mass Spectrometer, you never know what molecule you're gonna get.

[Obstbaum1337]

great video, better than many others!!

[Whusumnarcuvious]

i can totally tell just by looking at it. There are several pink molecules present in large rotating cloud of rainbow nerds

[zxhthinker]

Who can help me build the speed of light spacecraft, e-mail me.wmv

The spacecraft can beyond the light.

I tell you the secrets of electricity and magnetism, you help me build the spacecraft.

Seek cooperation the global.

----Xuhui

[mecagoentoooooooo]

Where is the explanations about the Antimass Spectrometer from Black Mesa Research Laboratories? Its a joke. Thanks for the explanetions of this.

[zlobber]

Quadrupole mass spectrometer sounds like the name of a gun from Half-Life/Quake/Unreal/etc

[LTF85199]

this is as clear us telling how gravity works..

[Grzesiekarator]

I'm still not sure what it is, but it looks like a minigun so I'm going to asume it's something just as awesome.

[L00NGB00W]

@jean1126

We do this by sending the testing equipment to the Moon or Mars, rather than brining the rocks back here.

The Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity are each equipped with three different kinds of spectrometers.

And we did recover rocks from the moon, as well as retrieve a lander's camera from an earlier mission. Upon analysis of the camera, a bacterial colony (from Earth) was found alive inside it!

But yeah... to the MOON!!

[tostrong4you]

sweet

[iribbbb]

Nasa, Thanks for commenting my modest video. It is an great honor for me.

Your channel is a Very Nice and Great Channel.

[snacksforaddicts]

if you tweak it, it would make one hell of a bong.