Prospect is a European Space Agency research project which aims to develop a drilling, sampling and analysis system to go on a lunar lander to extract and quantify water ice, from the moon’s surface material (regolith). Dr. Simeon Barber, Open University’s Space Business Manager, was recently interviewed in a BBC Series feature on the project, in which one of our Hiden mass spectrometers can be seen in the background.
The Open University are long term users of Hiden Analytical products and have published previous research work, highlighting the application of space science research of our advanced mass spectrometry instrumentation.
Previous studies on lunar and asteroid samples
In May 2025, the Open University made headlines for being granted exclusive access to lunar dust returned by China’s Chang’e mission. The lunar dust was sampled using Finesse, an advanced analytical system which consisted of a Hiden Analytical quadrupole mass spectrometer, as well as two magnetic sector mass spectrometers, and allowed researchers to perform a full suite of isotopic and evolved gas analyses (EGA) on a single sample in a fully automated, computer-controlled workflow.
In a 2024 study published by the Open University, the Hiden RGA (Residual Gas Analyser) instrument measured Xenon (Xe) isotopes to help identification of Xe-P7, a previously undiscovered primordial noble gas component that may refine our understanding of early solar system volatile evolution. The Ryugu asteroid samples returned by the Hayabusa2 mission were analysed by the Open University’s Finesse, advanced analytical system, which has the HAL 3F PIC as one of the analysers. This mass spectrometer is configured for high sensitivity and well suited for detailed analysis of extremely limited samples.
Another 2024 study used the Hiden HALO RGA to measure helium leakage through PTFE oven seals, with JSC-1A lunar simulant dust used to simulate dusty extraterrestrial conditions, under varied temperature, geometry and material conditions. The Hiden HALO RGA provided the sensitive RGA-based helium leak measurements needed to validate seal performance under realistic vacuum, temperature and dust-contamination conditions.
A previous feasibility study conducted by Dr. Simeon Barber and Professor Mahesh Anand in 2021, explored the extraction of water from lunar regolith to support human habitation, using a Hiden HPR-20 R&D quadrupole mass spectrometer system for the analysis measurements. The HPR-20 R&D was integrated into the Open University’s custom analysis system for extracting and measuring water from lunar regolith by hydrogen reduction. The EGA was measured during sample bake-out and post-reaction water release, as lunar simulant, meteorite and Apollo soil samples were heated and reacted under controlled hydrogen conditions. The HPR-20 R&D enabled sensitive real-time measurement of key gaseous and volatile species, including water. The results show the feasibility of performing in situ measurements by a lunar probe, using mass spectrometry.
Investigation into samples from the moon’s surface can teach us vital information about how elements such as water arrive on the moon, where they derive from and their behaviour on the surface, as well as teaching us about the history of water in the Earth-Moon system, since the mars-sized object struck infant Earth 4.5 billion years ago.
Publications
- Sargeant, H. M., Barber, S. J., Anand, M., Abernethy, F. A. J., Sheridan, S., Wright, I. P. and Morse, A. D. (2021) ‘Hydrogen reduction of lunar samples in a static system for a water production demonstration on the Moon.’ Planetary and Space Science, 205, October, p. 105287. DOI: 10.1016/j.pss.2021.105287.
- Verchovsky, A. B., Abernethy, F. A. J., Anand, M., Franchi, I. A., Grady, M. M., Greenwood, R. C., Barber, S. J., Suttle, M., Ito, M., Tomioka, N., Uesugi, M., Yamaguchi, A., Kimura, M., Imae, N., Shirai, N., Ohigashi, T., Liu, M.-C., Uesugi, K., Nakato, A. and Yogata, K. (2024) ‘A primordial noble gas component discovered in the Ryugu asteroid and its implications.’ Nature Communications. Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 15(1). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52165-0.
- A J Abernethy, F. (2023) ‘PTFE as a viable sealing material for lightweight mass spectrometry ovens in dusty extraterrestrial environments.’ RAS Techniques and Instruments, 3(1) pp. 80–88. DOI: 10.1093/rasti/rzae003.
