WE PROPOSE TO BUILD AND CRITICALLY TEST KEY SUBSYSTEMS OF LIFE ANALYSIS, CAPTURE, AND RETENTION ON AN ORBITING SATURN SPACECRAFT (LACROSS), AN ULTRA-COMPACT PLUME SAMPLE COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS. LACROSS WILL CONDUCT THESE ANALYSIS IN-SITU, DIRECTLY ON ICY SAMPLES COLLECTED FROM THE PLUME DURING FLY-THROUGHS. THUS, LACROSS ADDRESSES FIVE OF THE SIX TECHNOLOGIES SOLICITED BY SUBTOPIC S4.06. LACROSS SAMPLE COLLECTION&MANAGEMENT SYSTEM UTILIZES AN INNOVATIVE ARCHITECTURE TO A) COLLECT PARTICLES USING AN ANGLED-WALL COLLECTOR AN B) ANALYZE THEM IN-SITU, WITHOUT THE NEED FOR SAMPLE PROCESSING AND CONCENTRATING. THE COLLECTOR FUNNELS ICE PARTICLES INTO PLASMONIC AEROGEL (STARDUST HERITAGE), WHERE PARTICLES BURY AND SLOW DOWN TO A STOP. THE PLASMONIC AEROGEL ENABLES ULTRASENSITIVE (1 NM) SERS MEASUREMENTS OF ALL PARTICLES THAT INTERSECTS THE FOCUS PLANE. LACROSS INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO SAMPLE CAPTURE AND ANALYSIS ENABLES UNPRECEDENTED IN-FLIGHT SAMPLE COLLECTION AND MEASUREMENTS OF MATERIAL FRESHLY INJECTED INTO SPACE: IN-SITU CHEMICAL IDENTIFICATION AND QUANTITATION OF COMPLEX ORGANIC COMPOUNDS, INCLUDING PREBIOTIC COMPOUNDS (E.G., AMINO ACIDS); BIOMOLECULES (ORGANIC BIOMARKERS SUCH AS PROTEINS, LIPIDS, AND NUCLEIC ACID POLYMERS); MINERALS; SALTS; VOLATILES. LACROSS WILL BE A SUBSTANTIAL TECHNOLOGICAL LEAP WITH RESPECT TO EXISTING OR PROPOSED SAMPLING AND/OR ANALYSIS SYSTEMS OF ENCELADUS PLUME IN THE FOLLOWING KEY ASPECTS: (1) IT UTILIZES AN INNOVATIVE ARCHITECTURE TO CAPTURE AND TRANSFER ICE PARTICLES FROM PLUMES DIRECTLY TO A SENSOR THAT REQUIRES NO MOVING PARTS, ACTUATORS, SAMPLE HANDLING; (2) THE MULTIPLEX INTEGRAL-FIELD SERS IMAGING APPROACH FEATURES AUGMENTED SCIENCE RETURNS AND REDUCED TECHNICAL COMPLEXITY RELATIVE TO EXISTING AND PROPOSED PLANETARY RAMAN SPECTROMETERS; (3) LACROSS MINIMIZES THE RESOURCES AND COMPLEXITY REQUIRED TO CAPTURE AND CONCENTRATE A SAMPLE AND PERFORM KEY INVESTIGATIONS REQUIRED TO UNDERSTAND THE HABITABILITY OF ENCELADUS.