The most sensitive instrument in the search for life beyond Earth

Date:
August 19, 2020
Source:
University of Bern
Summary:
Researchers have developed the highly sensitive ORIGIN instrument,
which can provide proof of the smallest amounts of traces of life,
for future space missions. The instrument may be used on missions
to the ice moons of Europa (Jupiter) and Enceladus (Saturn),
for example.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
The question of whether life exists beyond the Earth is one of humanity's
most fundamental questions. Future NASA missions, for example, aim
to examine the ice moons of Jupiter and Saturn, which may potentially
shelter life in the liquid oceans underneath the thick layer of ice,
on the ground. Proving traces of life beyond the Earth is extremely challenging, however. Highly sensitive instruments which take measurements
on the ground with the greatest possible degree of autonomy and with
high precision -- millions of kilometers from the Earth and thus without
direct support from humankind -- are required.


==========================================================================
An international group of researchers under the leadership of Andreas
Riedo and Niels Ligterink at the University of Bern have now developed
ORIGIN, a mass spectrometer which can detect and identify the smallest
amounts of such traces of life. They describe the instrument in a
recently published article in the specialist journal Nature Scientific
Reports. Niels Ligterink from the Center for Space and Habitability (CSH)
is the lead author of the international study, and co-author Andreas
Riedo from the Physics Institute at the University of Bern developed
the instrument in the laboratories of the space research and planetary
sciences divison of the Physics Institute. Various international space agencies, particularly NASA, have already expressed interest in testing
ORIGIN for future missions.

New instrument required Since the first Mars mission "Viking" in
the 1970s, humanity has been searching for traces of life on Mars
using highly specialized instruments which are installed on landing
platforms and rovers. In its early years, Mars was Earth- like, had
a dense atmosphere and even liquid water. However, as Niels Ligterink
explains, Mars lost its protective atmosphere over the course of time:
"As a result of this, the surface of Mars is subjected to high solar and
cosmic radiation which makes life on the surface impossible." NASA's "Curiosity" rover is currently examining Mars in detail but with no
concrete indications of traces of life to date.

Since the discovery by the Cassini and Galileo missions of the global
oceans beneath kilometers of ice layers on Jupiter's moon Europa and
Saturn's moon Enceladus, these two bodies have increasingly become the
focus of the search for extraterrestrial life for researchers. According
to current knowledge, the oceans have all of the properties which are
not only needed for the occurrence of life, but also which provide
environments in which life can exist in the long term. NASA therefore
plans to land a mission on Jupiter's moon Europa around 2030 and take measurements on the ground. The goal: Identification of life. Co-author
Prof. Dr. Peter Wurz from the Physics Institute at the University of
Bern says: "Concepts which were specially developed for Mars cannot
be simply applied to other bodies in our solar systembecause they are
very different. New instruments with higher sensitivity and simpler and
more robust analysis systems must be designed and used." Unprecedented measurement sensitivity for proof of life in space ORIGIN is one such
new instrument which outperforms previous space instruments many terms
over in terms of its measurement sensitivty. Various international space agencies have expressed great interest in the instrument for future
missions. Andreas Riedo says: "NASA has invited us to particpaite
and test our instrument in the Arctic. The Artic is the optimal test environment in the context of the EUROPA LANDER mission, which should
start in 2025, which will allow us to demonstrate the performance
of ORIGIN." Amino acids are key components of life as we know it on
Earth. Contemporaneous proof of certain amino acids on extraterrestrial surfaces, such as those of Europa, allow conclusions to be drawn about
possible life. The measurement principle developed by the Bern-based researchers is simple. Niels Ligterink explains: "Laser pulses are
directed at the surface to be examined. In the process, small amounts
of material are detached, the chemical composition of which is analyzed
by ORIGIN in a second step." Andreas Riedo adds: "The compelling aspect
of our technology is that no complicated sample preparation techniques,
which could potentially affect the result, are required. This was one
of the biggest problems on Mars until now," says Riedo. The amino acids
which have been analyzed with ORIGIN to date have a specific chemical fingerprint which allows them to be directly identified. Niels Ligterink:
"To be honest, we didn't expect that our first measurements would
already be able to identify amino acids." The discovery of traces of
past or present life on bodies in our solar system beyond the Earth is of
great importance for a better understanding of the existence of life in
the universe and its genesis. Andreas Riedo says: "Our new measurement technology is a real improvement on the instruments currently used on
space missions. If we are taken along on a future mission, we may be
able to answer one of humanity's most fundamental questions with ORIGIN:
Is there life in space?."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Bern. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Niels F. W. Ligterink, Valentine Grimaudo, Pavel Moreno-Garci'a,
Rustam
Lukmanov, Marek Tulej, Ingo Leya, Robert Lindner, Peter Wurz,
Charles S.

Cockell, Pascale Ehrenfreund, Andreas Riedo. ORIGIN:
a novel and compact Laser Desorption - Mass Spectrometry
system for sensitive in situ detection of amino acids on
extraterrestrial surfaces. Scientific Reports, 2020; 10 (1) DOI:
10.1038/s41598-020-66240-1 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200819120720.htm

--- up 5 weeks, 1 hour, 55 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1337:3/111)