Laser searches for signs of duration

Could an optical technique used every day in laboratories all over the globe facilitate to answer the fundamental issue of are we alone in the Universe? A team of scientists from the US and the UK certainly hopes so. The class believes that its laser fluorescence equipment can be made to withstand the harsh environment on Mars to search for being on the planet. The researchers propose that the system could operate on any Mars lander or rover and be made ready for launch in just five years. The key challenge they face is to fabricate the instrument glowing enough to be flown, and resilient enough to survive the cold, -120 C Martian nights. Michael Storrie-Lombardi and Jan-Peter Muller, of the Mullard Amplitude Sciences Laboratory in the UK are carrying absent experiments both in the laboratory and at Silver Lake in California, US - a well-known Mars analogue study site. "Being able to check the fluorescence signal both under laboratory conditions and in the field has been
critical in ensuring the system will labour on the surface of Mars, " said Muller. The approach uses ultraviolet fluorescence to illuminate soil and rock in search of tell-tale signs of life. In particular the organization is searching for chemical compounds called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are believed to be one of the earliest forms of organic argument in the Universe. And, just like living organisms, PAHs fluoresce when excited by ultraviolet light. "While using fluorescence to illuminate organic material has been carried elsewhere for decades, brilliance sources were besides large and unwieldy to application for a robotic mission to another planet, " said Storrie-Lombardi. "However, latest generations of LEDs, which are very small, reliable and energy efficient practise this possible." "Placed on a Mars rover, one of these LEDs positioned a meagre centimetres from a target can easily provide enough luminosity to produce fluorescence in small
PAHs, " Storrie-Lombardi added. "But still more encouraging is the very recent development of a small 375 nm laser diode that can illuminate geological layers and crevices high up on otherwise inaccessible rock outcrops." The tool is ideal for initial surveys as it requires no sample preparation, does not destroy sample material and requires only electrical faculty to operate, conserving precious aqua and other consumable resources for sister instruments. Green laser module Full text: http://computerandtechnologies.com/technology/news_2008-08-15-22-00-05-768.html