Astrobiology Field Laboratory - Planning

Planning

The Astrobiology Field Laboratory (AFL) would have followed the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (launched in 2005), Phoenix lander (launched in 2007), Mars Science Laboratory (to launch in 2011), the Trace Gas Mission orbiter (to launch in 2016), and the ExoMars (to launch in 2018) projects in this strategic effort. The AFL 'Science Steering Group' developed the following set of search strategies and assumptions for increasing the likelihood of detecting biosignatures:

1. Life processes may produce a range of biosignatures such as lipids, proteins, amino acids, kerogen-like material or characteristic micropores in rock. However, the biosignatures themselves may become progressively destroyed by ongoing environmental processes.
2. Sample acquisition will need to be executed in multiple locations and at depths below that point on the Martian surface where oxidation results in chemical alteration. The surface is oxidizing as a consequence of the absence of magnetic field or magnetosphere shielding from harmful space radiation and solar electromagnetic radiation —which may well render the surface sterile down to a depth greater than 7.5 metres (24.6 feet). To get under that potential sterile layer, a core drill design is currently being studied. As with any trade, the inclusion of the drill would come at the mass expense available for other payload elements.
3. Analytical laboratory biosignature measurements require the pre-selection and identification of high-priority samples, which could be subsequently subsampled to maximize detection probability and spatially resolve potential biosignatures for detailed analysis.