ausblenden:
Schlagwörter:
Organic decontamination
Sterilization
Life detection
Biosignature
contaminants
Mars analog
Ice coring
glacier ice core
bacillus-subtilis
hydrogen-peroxide
lake vostok
spores
hypochlorite
svalbard
beneath
agents
decontamination
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Life Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics
Geology
Zusammenfassung:
Analytical approaches to extant and extinct life detection involve molecular detection often at trace levels. Thus, removal of biological materials and other organic molecules from the surfaces of devices used for sampling is essential for ascertaining meaningful results. Organic decontamination to levels consistent with null values on life-detection instruments is particularly challenging at remote field locations where Mars analog field investigations are carried out. Here, we present a seven-step, multi-reagent decontamination method that can be applied to sampling devices while in the field. In situ lipopolysaccharide detection via low-level endotoxin assays and molecular detection via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were used to test the effectiveness of the decontamination protocol for sampling of glacial ice with a coring device and for sampling of sediments with a rover scoop during deployment at Arctic Mars-analog sites in Svalbard, Norway. Our results indicate that the protocols and detection technique sufficiently remove and detect low levels of molecular constituents necessary for life-detection tests.
