Spectral Identification of the Precursors for Life

到目前为止，远距离识别太阳系冰体(如卫星和彗星)上的有机分子和与水有关的矿物沉积的最佳技术之一是红外光谱。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、尘埃、水、H2O和CO2冰以及许多有机物种的大小不同的颗粒的混杂混合物创建并受其影响的。然而，试图在单一光谱内分离这些单独的元素是具有挑战性的，错误的分配可能会导致对有机和矿物学环境的误解，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富有机、贫有机和原始蒸散矿物的光谱标记，并进行实验模拟，以创建有机、冰和尘埃混合物的红外参考光谱，最终帮助在现场和从轨道上确定行星天体的特征。

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.