On Potential Spectroscopic Detection of Microfossils on Mars |
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| Authors: | Giuseppe A Marzo Romolo Politi Armando Blanco Rosario Brunetto Sergio Fonti Vincenzo Orofino |
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| Institution: | (1) Physics Department, University of Salento, C.P. 193, Lecce, 73100, Italy;(2) Astrophysics Laboratory, via Arnesano C.P. 193, Lecce, 73100, Italy |
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| Abstract: | There is much evidence about the ancient presence of water on Mars and it is reasonable to suppose that simple forms of life
may have developed during the geological evolution of the planet. In such a case traces of this extinct life could still be
present on the planet in form of microfossils included into some geological layer. The rover payloads planned for the next
decades will include spectrometers in order to accomplish various scientific tasks. In this respect, we have developed a quantitative
model for microfossil inclusions into a crystalline matrix. Such a method foresees some visible effects on measurements obtained
via spectroscopic techniques such as infrared reflectance and Raman spectroscopy. In this work we present the quantitative
model of the fossilization process and the effects that the microfossil inclusions should have in the real spectra, evaluated
by means of computer simulations. Preliminary measurements, in order to provide examples of future model testing, have been
performed on samples of homogeneous composition, but with detectable microfossils content, collected at the K–T sequence placed
near Gubbio (Italy). The preliminary results are presented and discussed in order to investigate the potential application
of such spectroscopic techniques for the detection of extinct life. |
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| Keywords: | Fossil Infrared reflectance Life detection Mars Raman spectroscopy |
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