The field of exoplanet astronomy is advancing toward the atmospheric characterization of Earth-like planets around nearby stars, with the ultimate goal of probing these exoplanets for evidence of life. Yet despite requiring the development of telescopes and measuring devices wit…
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With the upcoming launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the first light of thirty-meter class ground based telescopes in the 2020s, and plans in the works for a next-generation space-based telescope designed from the outset to probe exoplanet habitability and biosigna…
The search for ancient life on Earth is complicated and often controversial due to the fossil record consisting of microbial fossils (microfossils) which are simple in morphology and often not well preserved. The burden of proof for confirming the existence of life outside of ou…
The next generation of ground- and space-based telescopes will probe the atmospheres, and possibly the surfaces, of Earth-sized planets in the habitable zone (HZ). However, observing time will be both expensive and limited making it essential to target only the most promising pl…
The aim of the research documented in this thesis was to explore issues associated with the development of instrumentation for life detection and characterisation in a planetary exploration context. Within this aim, the following objectives had to be achieved: 1. To consider cur…
Raman spectroscopy has been used to characterise both organic and geological samples in order to build a database for the future characterization of biomarker molecules that are of astrobiological relevance. Characteristic geological features and hydrated minerals recently found…
The Life Marker Chip instrument, which has been selected to fly as part of the 2018 ExoMars rover mission payload, aims to detect up to 25 organic molecules in martian rocks and regolith, as markers of extant life, extinct life, meteoritic in-fall and spacecraft contamination. M…
Future space telescopes will provide us with the opportunity to characterize the atmospheres of terrestrial planets orbiting within the habitable zones of their stars. In the near future, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) will allow us to spectrally characterize terrestrial …