Some new technology may allow us to "sniff" for life on Mars. There's a sensing technique that the US military uses to remotely monitor the air to detect potentially life-threatening chemicals, toxins, and pathogens and this has inspired a new instrument which, if it is actually developed, could be used to detect bio-signatures on other planets.
This new instrument is the Bio-Indicator Lidar Instrument, or BILI for short. It's a fluorescence-based lidar. This means that it's a type of remote-sensing instrument similar to radar in principle and operation, but instead of using radio waves, it uses light to detect the composition of particles. BILI has the ability to detect small levels of complex organic materials from a distance of several hundred meters. This is important because there are some issues encountered with land based rovers carrying numerous instruments, such as not being able to easily navigate over slopes. This new device could potentially search for bio-signatures in plumes occurring over these slopes.
Branimir Blagojevic is a NASA technologist at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "BILI's measurements do not require consumables other than electrical power and can be conducted quickly over a broad area. This is a survey instrument, with a nose for certain molecules," Blagojevic notes. So chances are, this would not be as expensive of an instrument as those associated with NASA. Using this kind of tool on an orbiting spacecraft could increase the probability of finding bio-signatures in the solar system dramatically.
This lidar instrument has not been employed in planetary studies yet, but Blagojevic has applied the technology to create an instrument prototype. There is no forecasted date either, but it should not be surprising if we see this new technology being implemented in new studies within the next ten years.
This is something that I had not heard of and it sounds like something I would love to read more about. The technology that we are able to create is so impressive. Equipment that help determine life threatening toxins amazes me even more so the idea of the technology of using light waves. The intelligence of the people on this planet is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteMarcos,
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting development in science. It is excited to learn it can detect things from a distance. I could see this type technology expanding to a lot of positive advancements. Perhaps there is a possibility of expansion, or to search for life outside of Mars. The blog is very simple and easy to navigate. The simplicity of it, brings out the information as the most focal point. This was a great topic to write and learn about.