ASTID

Infrared Spectroscopy for In-Situ Organic Detection

PI: Nancy Chanover

This project will develop a near-infrared spectral microscope to address astrobiology requirements on future NASA missions to icy satellites of the outer solar system. This instrument will be a small, simple, non-imaging, in-situ acousto-optic tunable filter (AOTF) spectrometer operating in the 2-4 micron region that can prescreen samples for evidence of volatile or refractory organics before they are analyzed by an in-situ instruments such as a mass spectrometer. An optically bright, broadband emitter and AOTF combination will be used as a tunable monochromatic light source, illuminating a very small sample area compatible with both sample area and emitter geometry. AOTF’s have been demonstrated to be rugged, radiation-hard, and very fast, requiring only micro- to milliseconds for wavelength changes over the operating range, and enabling arbitrarily chosen spectral sampling sequences. Spectrum acquisition is acquired using a sensitive point detector. The AOTF spectrometer proposed here will add significant near-IR spectroscopic diagnostic capability without otherwise perturbing the functionality of a small surface laboratory. The proposed effort will include the development of a portable unit that can be field tested using the engineering and field demonstration expertise of our GSFC team members.