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NASA Develops New Technique – Based on Capillary Electrophoresis – to Find Signs of Life on Other Planets

NASA has developed a new technique to aid scientists in their search for life on other planets. The new technique works by analyzing amino acids—the structural building blocks of life on Earth. According to NASA, the new technique is 10,000 times more sensitive than the method currently used by Mars Curiosity rover.

The new technique makes use of capillary electrophoresis method to separate a mixture of organic molecules into its components. Although scientists have been using the capillary electrophoresis method since early 1980s, this is the first time the method has been modified to find signs of extraterrestrial life on other planets.

“Our method improves on previous attempts by increasing the number of amino acids that can be detected in a single run,” says Jessica Creamer, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral scholar at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, California.

“Additionally, it allows us to detect these amino acids at very low concentrations, even in highly salty samples, with a very simple ‘mix and analyze’ process,” Creamer said.

The new technique was used to analyze amino acids present in the waters of Mono Lake in California. The water in this lake is known for its high salt content, making it difficult for organisms to live. Scientists believe that Mars, Jupiter’s moon Europa, and Saturn’s moon Enceladus also have salty waters.

According to NASA, the new technique was used to simultaneously analyze 17 different amino acids.

“Using our method, we are able to tell the difference between amino acids that come from non-living sources like meteorites versus amino acids that come from living organisms,” said the project’s principal investigator Peter Willis of JPL.

According to Wills, NASA is working to search for life in the universe, and powerful liquid-based analyses can be used to find life in ocean worlds.

The detailed information about the new technique has been published in the journal Analytical Chemistry.