In essence, Ptolemy is a miniature chemical laboratory, containing a sophisticated suite of chemical reagents, heaters, valves and sensors which process the comet sample. The comet sample must be collected, purified and separated, then passed into a gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer for its chemical and isotopic composition to be measured. Due to the significant time delay between Earth and the comet, all this sequence must take place automatically under Ptolemy’s control.

To see the various components that make up the Ptolemy instrument, click on the thumbnail below, to launch the component animation.

Click the thumbnail to launch the animation