Searching for organic compounds in the Universe

• We review in-situ chemical instrumentation available to space organics survey.
• We discuss strengths and drawbacks of current pyrolysis-gas chromatography method.
• We summarize and discuss the properties of future microchip liquid-based strategies.
• We outline new trends in on-line miniaturized organic molecule analyzers.

Searching for signs of past or present life in our Solar System is a major challenge for the space-research community. One approach involves searching for organics. However, it encompasses major challenges, such as their very low concentration levels, their ambiguous origins (biotic or abiotic) and their supposed diversity and complexity. Even if, during the past 40 years, tremendous improvements in sample treatment, stationary phase and mass spectrometry detection have been achieved, there is still a need for new in-situ scientific instrumentation. The objective of this article is to give a broad canvas of instrumentation and technology available to space-survey missions and those further out. It is also a critical review where we discuss analytical science questions, and the technology needed to address them.