Huygens Gas Chromatograph - Mass Spectrometer

• Project Type: Project
• Acronym: GCMS
• Class: Instrument
• Project Home: http://huygensgcms.gsfc.nasa.gov/
• Education & Outreach Site: http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/area/index.cfm?fareaid=12

The Huygens probe successfully landed on Saturn's largest moon Titan. At around 11:30 UTC 14 January 2005 the probe touched down on the surface of this distant world.

Analysis of the composition of the atmosphere of Titan was one of the most important goals of the Cassini-Huygens Mission. The Gas Chromatograph and Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) measured the chemical composition of Titan's atmosphere from 170 km altitude (approx. 1 mbar) to the surface (approx. 1.5 bar) and determined the isotope ratios of the major gaseous constituents. GCMS also analyzed gas samples from the Aerosol Collector Pyrolyser (ACP).