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

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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.