Collector Contamination Requirements for Life Detection in Enceladus' Icy Plumes

The approach is to determine requirements for contamination levels on the collector cone wall, in connection with the effect of incoming ice particle, which, upon collision & shattering, free\npotential contaminants present on the cone wall. The impact of the roughness of the cone's surfaces will be assessed on the effectiveness of collector cleaning/sanitation protocols.

In future Enceladus missions, plumes ice particles will need to be collected to determine the presence of life and its ocean habitability. Incoming shattering ice particles on the collector cone wall will be funnelled into a chamber at the cone apex for analysis. During this process any contaminants present on the cone wall have the potential to be released and contaminate the ice collected in the chamber. It is not understood how much contamination could be released through the ice impact collisions with the cone and how much of this residual contamination is a function of the cone wall roughness as well as the needed cone cleanliness requirements. The latter issue, preventing an effective cleanliness, is that the micrometer to nanometer scale roughness of the cone surface can affect the degree of adhesion of the target organics & bioburden both in pre-launch and post-launch environments.

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