Spectral Identification of the Precursors for Life

迄今为止，红外光谱法是对太阳系冰体（如卫星和彗星）上的有机分子和与水有关的矿物沉积物进行远程识别的最佳技术之一。它们的探测依赖于对光谱的解释，这些光谱是通过岩石和矿物、灰尘、水、H2O和CO2冰以及许多有机物种的大小不一的颗粒的杂乱混合物产生并受到其影响的。然而，试图在一个光谱中将这些单独的元素分开是具有挑战性的，错误的分配可能会导致对有机和矿物环境的误解，从而导致行星体本身的地质历史。为了解决光谱解释中的这一关键不确定性，我们将进行实地模拟研究，以确定来自一系列陆地环境的有机物丰富，有机物贫乏和原始矿物的光谱标记，并进行实验模拟，以创建有机物，冰和尘埃混合物的红外参考光谱，最终帮助确定行星体的原位和轨道特征。

To date one of the best techniques for the remote identification of organic molecules and water-related mineral deposits on the icy bodies of the Solar System (such as moons and comets) has been infra-red (IR) spectroscopy. Their detection has relied on interpretations of spectra which are created through and influenced by a jumbled mixture of variably sized grains of, for example, rocks and minerals, dust, water, H2O and CO2 ice, and a host of organic species. Trying to pull apart these individual elements within a single spectrum however is challenging and a wrong assignment can lead to misinterpretation of the organic and mineralogical environment, and ergo the geological history of the planetary bodies themselves. To address this critical uncertainty in spectral interpretations, we will conduct field analogue research to identify spectral markers for organic-rich, organic-poor and pristine evaporitic minerals from a range of terrestrial environments and run experimental simulations to create IR reference spectra for organic, ice and dust mixtures to ultimately aid confident characterisation of planetary bodies both in-situ and from orbit.