Researchers at JPL have crafted a simple chemistry-based way to test for signs of life on another world, be it Mars or the watery moons Europa and Enceladus. The new test is 10,000 times more sensitive than current methods used on NASA's Curiosity rover, according to a study published recently in Analytical Chemistry.
The test uses a process called capillary electrophoresis to separate a liquid into its independent components. First the liquid sample is mixed with a liquid reagent. Then by shining a laser across the mixture, different molecules can be observed moving at different speeds thanks to a process called laser-induced fluorescence detection. By applying a charge to the mixture, scientists can see the molecules separate based on how fast they respond to the electric field.
The test is specifically designed to look for the building blocks of all life on Earth: amino acids. Proteins are constructed form long chains of amino acids, but there is a wide variety of amino acids and not all of them are created due to the processes of life. In fact, some of them don't even come from this planet.
"Using our method, we are able to tell the difference between amino acids that come from non-living sources like meteorites versus amino acids that come from living organisms," said the project's principal investigator, Peter Willis of JPL, in a