Abstract. The subsurface exploration of other planetary bodies can be used to unravel their geological history and assess their habitability. On Mars in particular, present-day habitable conditions may be restricted to the subsurface. Using a deep subsurface mine, we carried out a program of extraterrestrial analog research -MINAR (MINe Analog Research). MINAR aims to carry out the scientific study of the deep subsurface and test instrumentation designed for planetary surface exploration by investigating deep subsurface geology, whilst establishing the potential this technology has to be transferred into the mining industry. An integrated multi-instrument suite was used to investigate samples of representative evaporite minerals from a subsurface Permian evaporite sequence, in particular to assess mineral and elemental variations which provide small scale regions of enhanced habitability. The instruments used were the Panoramic Camera emulator (AUPE-2), Close-Up Imager (CLUPI), Raman Spectrometer, SPLIT (Small Planetary Linear Impulse Tool), Ultrasonic Drill and handheld XRD. We present science results from the analog research and show that these instruments can be used to investigate in situ the geological context and mineralogical variations of a deep subsurface environment, and thus habitability, from millimeter to meter scales. We also show that these instruments are complementary. For example, the identification of primary evaporite minerals such as NaCl and KCl, which are difficult to detect by portable Raman spectrometers, can be accomplished with XRD. By contrast, Raman is highly effective at locating and detecting mineral inclusions in primary evaporite minerals. MINAR demonstrates the effective use of a deep subsurface environment for planetary instrument development, understanding the habitability of extreme deep subsurface environments on Earth and other planetary bodies, and advancing the use of space technology in economic mining. IntroductionPlanetary analog research involves the investigation of terrestrial environments that are comparable to extraterrestrial environments. These analogs tend to be focused, at a high level, on science, science operations, or technology research and testing, or a combination of these topics (e.g. Dickinson and Rosen 2003;Sarrazin et al. 2005; Cabrol et al. 2007;Pollard et al. 2009; Lim et al. 2011;Abercromby et al. 2013). Analog field settings are used to evaluate scientific instruments of particular relevance to future flight missions in a rugged field setting. These field tests have, for example, ranged from deserts to underwater settings (e.g. Cabrol et al. 2007;Jasiobedzki et al. 2012;Abercromby et al. 2013), and have taken a variety of forms, from testing a single technology to examine its performance in a particular environment (e.g. Skelley et al. 2007), to fully integrated rover tests utilizing a variety of different instruments (e.g. Schenker et al. 2001).One environment that has received less attention for analog research, but which holds a great deal o...

The first Raman spectrometers to be used for in situ analysis of planetary material will be launched as part of powerful, rover-based analytical laboratories within the next 6 years. There are a number of significant challenges associated with building spectrometers for space applications, including limited volume, power and mass budgets, the need to operate in harsh environments and the need to operate independently and intelligently for long periods of time (due to communication limitations). Here, we give an overview of the technical capabilities of the Raman instruments planned for future planetary missions and give a review of the preparatory work being pursued to ensure that such instruments are operated successfully and optimally. This includes analysis of extremophile samples containing pigments associated with biological processes, synthetic materials which incorporate biological material within a mineral matrix, planetary analogues containing low levels of reduced carbon and samples coated with desert varnish that incorporate both geo-markers and biomarkers. We discuss the scientific importance of each sample type and the challenges using portable/flight-prototype instrumentation. We also report on technical development work undertaken to enable the next generation of Raman instruments to reach higher levels of sensitivity and operational efficiency.

A prototype instrument, under development at the University of Leicester, for the future European Space Agency (ESA) ExoMars mission, was used for the analysis of microbial pigments within a stratified gypsum crust from a hypersaline saltern evaporation pond at Eilat (Israel). Additionally, the same samples were analysed using a miniaturized Raman spectrometer, featuring the same 532 nm excitation. The differences in the position of the specific bands, attributed to carotenoid pigments from different coloured layers, were minor when analysed by the ESA prototype instrument; therefore, making it difficult to distinguish among the different pigments. The portable Delta Nu Advantage instrument allowed for the discrimination of microbial carotenoids from the orange/green and purple layers. The purpose of this study was to complement previous laboratory results with new data and experience with portable or handheld Raman systems, even with a dedicated prototype Raman system for the exploration of Mars. The latter is equipped with an excitation wavelength falling within the carotenoid polyene resonance region. The ESA prototype Raman instrument detected the carotenoid pigments (biomarkers) with ease, although further detailed distinctions among them were not achieved.

Raman spectroscopy has been identified as a powerful tool for astrobiology and remote robotic planetary exploration. It can be used to identify and characterise rock matrices, mineral inclusions and organic molecules and is demonstrably effective at identifying biomarkers, or indicators of biological activity. The ExoMars rover, jointly operated by the European and Russian Federal Space Agencies, will carry the first Raman spectrometer into space when it launches in 2018 and two further Raman instruments have recently been announced as part of the payload onboard the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Mars 2020 rover. Each of these spectrometers however will, by necessity, have poorer resolution than the most sophisticated laboratory instruments because of mass, volume and power constraints and the space readiness of the requisite technologies. As a result, it is important to understand the minimum instrument specification required to achieve the scientific objectives of a mission, in terms of parameters such as spectral resolution and laser footprint size. This requires knowledge of the target minerals and molecules between which there may be ambiguity when identifying bands in spectra from geological samples. Here, we present spectra from a number of Mars analogue samples that include a range of such molecules, highlighting where such confusion may occur and identifying the most useful bands for differentiation. It is recommended that a Raman spectrometer achieves a resolution of at least 3 cm−1 and covers a spectral range from 100 to 4000 cm−1 in order to differentiate between all of the target molecules presented here. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

We are entering a new era for high energy astrophysics with the use of new technology to increase our ability to both survey and monitor the sky. The Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) instrument on the THESEUS mission will revolutionize transient astronomy by using wide-field focusing optics to increase the sensitivity to fast transients by several orders of magnitude. The THESEUS mission is under Phase A study by ESA for its M5 opportunity. THESEUS will carry two large area monitors utilizing Lobster-eye (the SXI instrument) and coded-mask (the XGIS instrument) technologies, and an optical-IR telescope to provide source redshifts using multi-band imaging and spectroscopy. The SXI will operate in the soft (0.3-5 keV) X-ray band, and consists of two identical modules, each comprising 64 Micro Pore Optics and 8 large-format CMOS detectors. It will image a total field of view of 0.5 steradian instantaneously while providing arcminute localization accuracy. During the mission, the SXI will find many hundreds of transients per year, facilitating an exploration of the earliest phase of star formation and comes at a time when multi-messenger astronomy has begun to provide a new window on the universe. THESEUS will also provide key targets for other observing facilities, such as Athena and 30m class ground-based telescopes.