The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
Go to topicThe Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) will be a versatile gas chemical analyser designed to identify and measure chemicals in Titan's atmosphere. It will be equipped with samplers that will be filled at high altitude for analysis. The mass spectrometer will build a model of the molecular masses of each gas, and a more powerful separation of molecular and isotopic species will be accomplished by the gas chromatograph. During descent, the GCMS will also analyse pyrolysis products passed to it from the Aerosol Collector Pyrolyser. Finally, the GCMS will measure the composition of Titan's surface in the event of a safe landing. This investigation will be made possible by heating the GCMS instrument just prior to impact in order to vaporise the surface material upon contact.