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Completed TRL 4 (started at 4, targeting 5)
The Mars Biosignature Extractor (MABEX) uses subcritical water extraction (SCWE) to extract a wide range of biosignatures from complex mixtures including liquid, ice, or soil, and then transfers that filtered liquid to other instruments for chemical analysis. As part of past PSTAR efforts, an early TRL-4 MABEX prototype was remotely operated as the front end for an electrophoresis analyzer aboard the ARADS rover in the Atacama Desert. This was the first and only report of the use of liquid extraction and analysis in simulated Mars mission operations, enabling parts-per-billion level detection of amino acids in soil with zero human intervention. In the current effort, we advance MABEX to TRL-5, by demonstrating amino acid extractions in newly built and optimized extraction chambers in a Mars-like environment. In addition to enabling life detection on Mars missions, MABEX can also be used to process and filter melted ice mixtures for chemical analysis, to determine if these sources of water could be used as a resource by human explorers.
MABEX is a key mission-enabling technology essential in the search for life and human exploration of Mars. Advancement of MABEX to TRL-5 lays essential technology foundation for biosignature detection on Mars as well as potential in situ resource utilization of Martian ice deposits. Ultimately, MABEX could be integrated into the sample handling chain for all Mars missions, human and robotic, that involve searching for life, assessing habitability, or investigating ices or icy mixtures as a potential resource for human explorers.
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