In Situ Analytical Chemistry Laboratory for the Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor

Area of Science:

• Astrobiology
• Planetary Science
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Developing autonomous analytical systems is crucial for extraterrestrial exploration.
• Capillary electrophoresis (CE) offers high-sensitivity chemical analysis in a compact format.
• Robotic platforms require miniaturized, robust instruments for in-situ measurements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To report a fully automated, end-to-end capillary electrophoresis (CE) system.
• To ensure the CE system's dimensions and requirements are compatible with the Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor (EELS) robot.
• To demonstrate autonomous CE operation in challenging, natural environments.

Main Methods:

• Designed a CE system with three contactless conductivity detectors for simultaneous cation and anion detection.
• Integrated the CE system into the Exobiology Extant Life Surveyor (EELS) robot payload.
• Tested the autonomous CE system's performance on a glacier in various conditions: on-ice, partially submerged, and fully submerged.

Main Results:

• Achieved simultaneous detection of cations (K+, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+) and anions (Cl-, SO42-) at submicromolar concentrations.
• Demonstrated end-to-end (sample-in/data-out) automated operation.
• Successfully deployed and operated the autonomous CE system in three distinct glacial environments for the first time.

Conclusions:

• The developed automated CE system is suitable for deployment on extraterrestrial exploration robots like EELS.
• Autonomous CE analysis is feasible in diverse and challenging aqueous environments.
• This technology advances the capability for in-situ life detection and chemical characterization on other worlds.