THE ARC/SSA ASTROCHEMISTRY LAB
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  Instrument Host Overview                                                    
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    The Astrochemistry Laboratory is located in the Astrophysics Branch (SSA) 
    of the Space Sciences Division at NASA's Ames Research Center, in Mountain
    View, CA. We study extraterrestrial materials and are especially          
    interested in the formation, distribution, and fate of organic compounds  
    (comprised primarily of carbon, like those in living things) in space. We 
    are among the pioneers in laboratory studies of space environments        
    including interstellar, cometary, and planetary ices, and simulations of  
    the so-called 'Unidentified' Infrared Emission Bands and Diffuse          
    Interstellar Bands using PAHs and PAH-related materials. We are also      
    interested in ices on outer Solar System objects like moons of Jupiter and
    Saturn. Our laboratory experiments typically involve low-temperature      
    spectroscopy of molecules thought to be in space under astrophysical      
    conditions. From these experiments we have built up a database that we and
    others have used (in conjunction with astronomical data) to identify many 
    molecules in space.                                                       
                                                                              
    http://astrochemistry.org/                                                
                                                                              
          GROUP                        = OBSERVATORY_PARAMETERS               
            OBSERVATORY_ID             = 'LAB510'                             
            NAME                       = 'THE ARC/SSA ASTROCHEMISTRY LAB'     
            COUNTRY                    = 'USA'                                
            ADDRESS                    = 'Astrophysics Branch;                
    NASA Ames Research Center;                                                
    Moffett Field Ca 94035-1000'                                              
          END_GROUP                    = OBSERVATORY_PARAMETERS