"Chemical laptop" will help to find extraterrestrial life

Field trial Chemical Laptop at Mars Yard. "Laptop" is installed on the test rover

If you need to look for signs of life on other planets, other worlds, a portable system with many possibilities may be useful. Such a system is now being developed at NASA, calling it the “Chemical Laptop” (Chemical Laptop). In fact, it is a miniature chemical laboratory that analyzes samples in order to search for compounds that are associated with living organisms. According to the developers of the mini-laboratory, at the moment this is the most functional and sensitive device of this kind, the first system capable of detecting the presence of amino acids and fatty acids.

Like the Star Trek tricorder, the Chemical Laptop is a portable laboratory that researchers hope to send to another planet or satellite of the planet — for example, Mars or Europe. The size of the laboratory is comparable to the size of a regular laptop, only the thickness of the system is much larger, since there must be room inside for placing chemical compounds and carrying out chemical analyzes of the selected samples. In this case, the laboratory can be reprogrammed to perform various functions. There are certain programs for carrying out certain analyzes, for example, the search for amino acids and fatty acids.

Amino acids are components of proteins, and fatty acids are a key component of cell membranes. These compounds are not necessarily derivatives of life forms, but the Chemical Laptop can tell the difference, and tell whether the presence of amino acids or fatty acids is a sign of life in a particular region, or these compounds have appeared in some other way.
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Amino acids can have L-forms (“left-sided” forms) and D-forms (“right-sided” forms). They are a mirror image, but consist of the same components. Some scientists believe that life on Earth uses only left-sided forms of amino acids, since it was originally said so, at the dawn of life on the planet. However, life forms that use right-sided amino acids may exist somewhere.

“If the test detects the presence of both L and D forms, and in a 50/50 ratio, we can safely conclude that these amino acids are of non-biological origin. But if either L or D frms prevail, in this case one can speak of falling into the “bull's eye”. This can serve as proof of the existence of life on other planets, ”said one of the creators of the Chemical Laptop. By the way, developing a method to distinguish L from D forms of the same amino acid is a difficult task that scientists have coped with.

How it works

The chemical laptop is equipped with a battery and requires a liquid sample to carry out the analysis. Of course, it is very difficult to get a sample of this kind, for example, on Mars. Therefore, the “espresso machine” technology was developed, which places the sample in a test tube with liquid water and heats up to 100 degrees Celsius. Organic molecules will remain in the water if they are present in the sample. Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) for Curiosity uses the same method, but without heating the water.

Once the liquid sample is ready, the device mixes it with a fluorescent paint that reacts to the presence of amino acids or fatty acids. After that, the sample enters the microchip inside the device, where amino acids and fatty acids can be separated. At the end of the separation channel is placed a laser detector. The laser determines whether fatty acids or amino acids pass through the channel.

In addition, chemical additives are placed inside the separation channel of the microchip. Some of them only react with L-amino acids, while others only with D-amino acids. After analysis, the ratio of L and D-forms of amino acids is calculated.

Testing

Last year, researchers conducted tests of their portable laboratory at the Mars Yard test site (model of the surface of Mars on Earth). Scientists installed a chemical laptop on a test rover.

This was the first time the system was tested. A sample of fogerite (Fougèrite), a mineral that absorbs organic molecules and may be one of the factors that led to the emergence of life, was chosen for the test.

After that, the sensitivity of the laboratory was improved, so the Chemical Laptop began to determine even smaller quantities of amino acids and fatty acids. Now the tool is able to detect the presence of these substances in a concentration of one per trillion. A new laser system and a new detector are being tested.

The next test item is the Atacama Desert in Chile.