THE RP-TOF PROJECT IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN GSFC, JHU/APL, AND CREARE. THE RP-TOF PROJECT SEEKS TO DEVELOP A NEW MINIATURE SPACE FLIGHT MASS SPECTROMETER PROTOTYPE, BASED ON PRIOR INSTRUMENTS AND DESIGNS, SOME OF WHICH HAVE BEEN IN COLLABORATION WITH CREARE, INC. THE RP-TOF WILL BE A VERY COMPACT INSTRUMENT FOR ANALYSIS OF THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF ROCKS, DUST, AND ICES ON PLANETS SUCH AS MARS, THE MOON, OR OTHER PLANETARY SATELLITES. A NEW ASPECT TO BE PURSUED IS THE ABILITY TO SWITCH BETWEEN ION POLARITIES (POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE) TO ENABLE BROADER CHARACTERIZATION OF SPECIES WITH BIASES FOR FORMING CATIONS OR ANIONS. IN ADDITION, THE INSTRUMENT WILL BE PACKAGED IN A SINGLE CYLINDRICAL HOUSING THAT INCLUDES A HIGH VACUUM PUMP TO BE DEVELOPED BY CREARE. THIS IS A CRITICAL ENABLING TECHNOLOGY FOR THIS TYPE OF INSTRUMENT, WHEN DEPLOYED IN ENVIRONMENTS WITH SUBSTANTIAL ATMOSPHERES (EARTH, MARS, TITAN) AS WELL AS IN COMBINED INSTRUMENTS USING GAS PROCESSING. IN BOTH CASES A HIGH-THROUGHPUT PUMP OF THE TYPE DEVELOPED AND MINIATURIZED BY CREARE IS REQUIRED TO PROCESS PERIODICAL GAS LOADING WHILE STILL ACHIEVING LOW BASE ANALYZER PRESSURE. THE CONTRACTOR WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ANALYSIS, DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT, TEST, AND DELIVERY OF A TURBOMOLECULAR-DRAG PUMP AND CONTROLLER, WITH PUMPING PARAMETERS AND HOUSING CUSTOMIZED TO THE RP-TOF. CREARE WILL ADDITIONALLY EXAMINE THE OPERATIONAL ISSUES OF THE RP-TOF VACUUM SYSTEM AS IT WOULD BE DEPLOYED ON MARS OR ON TITAN. IN THE CASE OF TITAN, CREARE WILL CONDUCT A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS TO THE HIGH AMBIENT PRESSURE CHALLENGE, INCLUDING POSSIBLE COMBINED TURBO-PUMP AND MECHANICAL BACKING PUMP SYSTEMS THAT COULD OPERATE BETWEEN HIGH VACUUM AND 1.5 BAR. AFTER A PERIOD OF INSTRUMENT TESTING AT GSFC, CREARE WILL CONDUCT LIMITED LIFETIME (CONTINUOUS AND START/STOP) TESTS OVER SEVERAL MONTHS, THEN RETURN THE PUMP TO GSFC. CREARE WILL ALSO SUPPORT DEVELOPMENT OF CONCEPTS FOR A FULL PUMPING SYSTEM FOR TITAN S SURFACE.