The proposed effort seeks to mature a fluorescence microscope for the detection of biomarkers and structural indicators of microbial life in ocean worlds. The luminescence imager for exploration…

This federal contract award to the Seti Institute, a non-profit scientific organization, aims to mature a fluorescence microscope called the Luminescence Imager for Exploration (LIFE) and advance development of a solid-state nanopore instrument called SEQLOW for the detection and study of microbial biomarkers in ocean world environments. The award, valued at $499,403, is funded by NASA and does not have a set-aside designation. The Seti Institute, as the prime contractor, will leverage its expertise in astrobiology, planetary science, and instrumentation development to support NASA's efforts in life detection for space exploration. The contract work will bring the SEQLOW instrument to a Technology Readiness Level of 5, integrating it with a microfluidic platform and optoelectric detection. This award is part of the Seti Institute's broader portfolio of federal contract and grant awards from NASA and the National Science Foundation to conduct cutting-edge research and develop innovative technologies in support of the agency's space exploration initiatives.

The proposed effort seeks to mature a fluorescence microscope for the detection of biomarkers and structural indicators of microbial life in ocean worlds. The luminescence imager for exploration (life) instrument utilize deep-ultraviolet (DUV) to identify aromatic compounds, and visible light to excite extrinsic fluorescent probes that target specific cellular components (e.g., lipids, DNA, etc.) life would collect samples onto a sub-micron filter and analyze them using fluorescence imaging with sub-micron spatial resolutions enabling the detection and quantification of bacterium-sized structures. This proposal aims to advance development of a solid-state nanopore instrument (seqlow) for the detection and study of a broad range of microbial biomarkers in ocean world environments, such as europa. The seqlow instrument would use a solid-state nanopore membrane platform designed for the detection and characterization of polyionic organic polymers derived from microbial life. These could include terrestrial-like DNA nucleotides but also novel linear polymers that could indicate life (such as tnas and xnas). Heritage for the proposed instrument would be derived from a commercial portable DNA-sequencing platform (oxford nanopore's minion), already used for in situ field analysis on earth and slated for international space station testing. The integrity of the current minion protein nanopore membrane would be made more robust to survive long duration space missions as part of this proposed work. The seqlow instrument would contain differing pore diameters for detection of multiple types of biomarkers (i.e. DNA, charged proteins, amino acids, viruses etc.), which would be integrated into a microfluidic platform with optoelectric detection for in situ life detection. The system would be brought to a TRL of 5 as part of this work.