The European Space Agency (ESA) and UK-based Leicester University researcher Melissa McHugh are working on a project to find ways of potentially using lasers in future space missions.
The project involves the development of a laser-based scientific technology that is expected to be launched into space onboard ESA’s ExoMars rover by 2020.
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The technology will be designed to help search potential biomarkers of previous or existing life on Mars, as well as old mineral remnants of the planet.
McHugh said: “We fire a laser at a material of interest and measure how much its colour is changed as it scatters off the surface, to identify the molecules responsible.
“This is a well-established technique terrestrially, used in all kinds of fields from security to pharmacology to art history, either in labs or using handheld devices.”
McHugh also noted that a lot of work has been going on across the world to extend the laser-based technique to help detect explosives, for instance, or nuclear materials.
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By GlobalDataThe technology requires a powerful pulsed laser and a sensitive synchronised camera to detect the reflected light, as only one in a million photons from the laser are scattered.
McHugh added: “Part of my work involves giving teams a reliable estimate of how well their device would perform in different configurations: what kind of laser, what type of samples, what manner of ambient light conditions?”
As part of the research, ESA’s technical centre site in Noordwijk, the Netherlands, has been used to expose instruments to radiation to evaluate how their performance would degrade in the harsh conditions of the Moon, Mars or deep space.
The research is supported through ESA’s Networking/Partnering Initiative, which encourages work carried out by universities and research institutes on advanced technologies with potential space applications.
