Understanding Preservation of Potential Biosignatures by Martian Soils with the aid of Molecular Simulations

将利用分子动力学模拟研究粘土矿物对氨基酸的吸附和保存，以深入了解潜在生物特征的保存。在一系列环境条件下，将对氨基酸和各种火星矿物之间的相互作用进行自动路线模拟采样，结果将进行统计分析，以推断可能从粘土上吸附的氨基酸合成的多肽的组成。这将使我们能够使用相对简单的原位仪器，从可能在火星或其他外星天体上发现的真实原始生物特征中识别出来。

The adsorption and preservation of amino acids by clay minerals will be studied using molecular dynamics simulations, to give insight into the preservation of potential biosignatures. An automated routing simulation sampling of interactions between amino acids and various Martian minerals under an array of environmental conditions will be performed, the results will be statistically analysed to infer the composition of a peptide that may be synthesised from adsorbed amino acids on the clay. This will allow us to identify proto-biosignatures from a real ones that may be found on Mars or other extraterrestrial bodies, using relatively simple instruments in-situ.