“Standoff Biofinder” for Fast, Noncontact, Nondestructive, Large-Area Detection of Biological Materials for Planetary Exploration

Misra, A. K.; Acosta-Maeda, T. E.; Sharma, Shiv K.; McKay, Christopher P.; Gasda, P. J.; Taylor, G. J.; Lucey, P. G.; Flynn, Luke P.; Abedin, M. Nurul; Clegg, S. M.; Wiens, R. C.

doi:10.1089/ast.2015.1400

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…On Earth, rock coatings can be a key indicator for the presence of past or extant life because many are produced by microbes or colonized by them (Parchert et al 2012;Northup et al 2010), and such communities may leave behind organic material that may be preserved even after they are no longer living. The coupling of TRR/L analysis will provide a strong constraint on detection and possibly characterization of any organicbearing coatings (Misra et al 2016). VISIR will complement these observations by identifying areas in which to search for coatings that are distinct from country rocks.…”

Section: Science Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The SuperCam Instrument Suite on the Mars 2020 Rover: Science Objectives and Mast-Unit Description

et al. 2021

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On the NASA 2020 rover mission to Jezero crater, the remote determination of the texture, mineralogy and chemistry of rocks is essential to quickly and thoroughly characterize an area and to optimize the selection of samples for return to Earth. As part of the Perseverance payload, SuperCam is a suite of five techniques that provide critical and complementary observations via Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), Time-Resolved Raman and Luminescence (TRR/L), visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (VISIR), high-resolution color imaging (RMI), and acoustic recording (MIC). SuperCam operates at remote distances, primarily 2–7 m, while providing data at sub-mm to mm scales. We report on SuperCam’s science objectives in the context of the Mars 2020 mission goals and ways the different techniques can address these questions. The instrument is made up of three separate subsystems: the Mast Unit is designed and built in France; the Body Unit is provided by the United States; the calibration target holder is contributed by Spain, and the targets themselves by the entire science team. This publication focuses on the design, development, and tests of the Mast Unit; companion papers describe the other units. The goal of this work is to provide an understanding of the technical choices made, the constraints that were imposed, and ultimately the validated performance of the flight model as it leaves Earth, and it will serve as the foundation for Mars operations and future processing of the data.

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Section: Science Objectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The SuperCam Instrument Suite on the Mars 2020 Rover: Science Objectives and Mast-Unit Description

et al. 2021

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“…Fluorescence originating from inorganic sources, such as lattice defects, trace metals, or rare-Earth impurities, typically has a s >1 ms, whereas fluorescence originating from organic fluorophores typically has s ( 100 ns (Sharma et al, 2003;Bozlee et al, 2005;Misra et al, 2016). Kerogen biogenicity cannot be definitively established with Raman spectroscopy alone (Pasteris and Wopenka, 2003;Marshall et al, 2010), but colocated gated UV Raman and fluorescence data sets can be obtained on a microscale location on a sample, where kerogen candidates have been previously targeted with imaging analyses, as done here, to enhance the confidence of kerogen identification.…”

Section: Fluorescence Spectroscopymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Others have examined natural, although extant and labile biosignatures, with Raman spectroscopy (e.g., Dickensheets et al, 2000;Jorge-Villar and Edwards, 2013) and UV timeresolved fluorescence techniques (e.g., Misra et al, 2016). However, surface conditions on Mars are unlikely to support extant life.…”

Section: Objectives Of This Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Detecting Kerogen as a Biosignature Using Colocated UV Time-Gated Raman and Fluorescence Spectroscopy

et al. 2018

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The Mars 2020 mission will analyze samples in situ and identify any that could have preserved biosignatures in ancient habitable environments for later return to Earth. Highest priority targeted samples include aqueously formed sedimentary lithologies. On Earth, such lithologies can contain fossil biosignatures as aromatic carbon (kerogen). In this study, we analyzed nonextracted kerogen in a diverse suite of natural, complex samples using colocated UV excitation (266 nm) time-gated (UV-TG) Raman and laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopies. We interrogated kerogen and its host matrix in samples to (1) explore the capabilities of UV-TG Raman and fluorescence spectroscopies for detecting kerogen in high-priority targets in the search for possible biosignatures on Mars; (2) assess the effectiveness of time gating and UV laser wavelength in reducing fluorescence in Raman spectra; and (3) identify sample-specific issues that could challenge rover-based identifications of kerogen using UV-TG Raman spectroscopy. We found that ungated UV Raman spectroscopy is suited to identify diagnostic kerogen Raman bands without interfering fluorescence and that UV fluorescence spectroscopy is suited to identify kerogen. These results highlight the value of combining colocated Raman and fluorescence spectroscopies, similar to those obtainable by SHERLOC on Mars 2020, to strengthen the confidence of kerogen detection as a potential biosignature in complex natural samples. Key Words: Raman spectroscopy-Laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy-Mars Sample Return-Mars 2020 mission-Kerogen-Biosignatures. Astrobiology 18, 431-453.

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“…37,38 The methodology of the Biofinder instrument has been discussed in our previous publication. 8 As an example, Fig. 1 shows a remote time-resolved luminescence spectra of ocean vegetation (macroalgae) Purple Limu as the biological sample, fluorene as the PAH, and manganocalcite as the mineral specimen excited with a 355 nm pulsed laser with a pulse width of 8 ns from 9 m distance.…”

Section: Working Principle Of Cocobimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the University of Hawai‘i, in the year 2012 we conceptualized and developed the very first version of a novel instrument known as the “Standoff Biofinder.” 7 A few years later, we described the methodology and details of the first prototype instrument. 8 This first prototype version of the instrument used a 532 nm pulsed laser for luminescence excitation and an intensified charged coupled device (ICCD) capable of short detection time as a sensitive monochrome detector. In this work, we describe a compact standoff biofinder instrument known as “COmpact COlor BIofinder” (CoCoBi), which uses two laser wavelengths 355 and 532 nm for the simultaneous excitation of targets and a very compact color complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS)-gated detector for real-time color imaging.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Compact Color Biofinder (CoCoBi): Fast, Standoff, Sensitive Detection of Biomolecules and Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons for the Detection of Life

et al. 2021

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We have developed a compact instrument called the “COmpact COlor BIofinder”, or CoCoBi, for the standoff detection of biological materials and organics with polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) using a nondestructive approach in a wide area. The CoCoBi system uses a compact solid state, conductively cooled neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) nanosecond pulsed laser capable of simultaneously providing two excitation wavelengths, 355 and 532 nm, and a compact, sensitive-gated color complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor camera detector. The system is compact, portable, and determines the location of biological materials and organics with PAHs in an area 1590 cm2 wide, from a target distance of 3 m through live video using fast fluorescence signals. The CoCoBi system is highly sensitive and capable of detecting a PAH concentration below 1 part per billion from a distance of 1 m. The color images provide the simultaneous detection of various objects in the target area using shades of color and morphological features. We demonstrate that this unique feature successfully detected the biological remains present in a 150-million-year-old fossil buried in a fluorescent clay matrix. The CoCoBi was also successfully field-tested in Hawaiian ocean water during daylight hours for the detection of natural biological materials present in the ocean. The wide-area and video-speed imaging capabilities of CoCoBi for biodetection may be highly useful in future NASA rover–lander life detection missions.

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“Standoff Biofinder” for Fast, Noncontact, Nondestructive, Large-Area Detection of Biological Materials for Planetary Exploration

Abstract: Standoff Biofinder-Luminescence-Time-resolved fluorescence-Biofluorescence-Planetary exploration-Planetary protection-Noncontact nondestructive biodetection. Astrobiology 16, 715-729.

Cited by 12 publications

References 71 publications

The SuperCam Instrument Suite on the Mars 2020 Rover: Science Objectives and Mast-Unit Description

The SuperCam Instrument Suite on the Mars 2020 Rover: Science Objectives and Mast-Unit Description

Detecting Kerogen as a Biosignature Using Colocated UV Time-Gated Raman and Fluorescence Spectroscopy

Compact Color Biofinder (CoCoBi): Fast, Standoff, Sensitive Detection of Biomolecules and Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons for the Detection of Life

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