NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover is equipped with an advanced instrument called SHERLOC. This instrument is capable of hunting for molecules that could be related to ancient life on Mars. It played a key role in a recent study, where it potentially identified a diverse collection of organics – carbon-based molecules which are considered the building blocks of life. Scientists are not certain whether the molecules were formed by biological or geological sources, but they are intrigued by the discovery.
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SHERLOC, which stands for Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals, is an essential tool in the Mars Sample Return campaign. This campaign is a joint effort by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) to bring back scientifically selected samples from Mars for further study on Earth. SHERLOC helps scientists determine whether a sample is worth collecting.
The instrument works by analyzing the chemical makeup of rocks using an ultraviolet laser. Through a phenomenon called the Raman effect, the instrument can create a distinctive spectral “fingerprint” of different molecules present in the rock. This allows scientists to identify and classify organics and minerals in the rock, providing insights into the environment in which the rock formed.
SHERLOC captures detailed images of rocks using its WATSON camera and combines them with chemical data to create spatial maps of chemicals on the surface of the rock. The results of the study have been promising, giving scientists a better understanding of how to search for the best samples.
The presence of organic molecules has been confirmed by NASA’s Curiosity rover, but Perseverance aims to find rocks that may have preserved signs of ancient microbial life. Therefore, the samples collected by Perseverance will be left intact for further study on Earth. This study marks an important step in the search for evidence of past life on Mars.
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