The open‐source neutral‐mass spectrometer on Atmosphere Explorer‐C, ‐D, and ‐E

Abstract

The open‐source mass spectrometer will be used to obtain the number densities of the neutral atmospheric gases in the mass range 1 to 48 amu at the satellite location. The ion source has been designed to allow gas particles to enter the ionizing region with the minimum practicable number of prior collisions with surfaces. This design minimizes the loss of atomic oxygen and other reactive species due to reactions with the walls of the ion source. The principal features of the open‐source spectrometer and the laboratory calibration system are discussed.