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PRIN: PROGETTI DI RICERCA DI RILEVANTE INTERESSE NAZIONALE – Bando 2022 - Prot. 2022WKPF2W
Research Unit 1: Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri Teresa Fornaro
Research Unit 2: Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa Nicola Tasinato
Abstract:
The Mars 2020 Perseverance rover, currently operating at Jezero crater on Mars, is looking for organic matter by means of a remote-sensing instrument located on the “head” of the rover’s mast, SuperCam, which combines Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) (1064 nm laser), Time Resolved Raman and Fluorescence (532 nm laser), visible and Near InfraRed (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy (in the spectral ranges 400-900 nm and 1.3-2.6 µm, respectively), and a close-up instrument mounted on the rover's robotic arm, SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals), which is a deep UV (248.6 nm laser) resonance Raman and fluorescence spectrometer.
This proposal aims to assist SuperCam and SHERLOC data analysis by developing proper tools to specifically look for spectroscopic features attributable to high preservation potential minerals and organics, both abiotic and molecular biosignatures diagnostic of past life.
In particular, custom databases of spectroscopic features for martian analog samples will be assembled by: (i) preparation of analog samples composed of relevant minerals, salts, oxidants, and organic compounds at various concentrations, using methods mimicking natural processes possibly occurred through time at Jezero Crater; (ii) mid-UV irradiation processing under Martian-like conditions, to investigate possible transformations of organics and define more accurately molecular targets to search in surficial samples; (iii) characterization of samples pre- and post- UV irradiation using instruments analogous to SuperCam and SHERLOC, to perform detectability/sensitivity test; (iv) assignment of experimental spectroscopic features and prediction of spectroscopic features for relevant organic compounds by computational methods based on density functional theory and post-Hartree Fock composite schemes.
Furthermore, Search&Match and machine learning approaches will be developed to guide recognition of organics in Jezero Crater sediments by comparative analysis between the custom databases and in situ observations.
These studies will provide essential tools to deconvolve the complex spectroscopic features of the samples investigated by Perseverance on Mars and correctly interpret in situ measurements, with regard to the search for mineral deposits with high biosignature preservation potential and possible evidence of past life, specifically focusing on detection of molecular biosignatures, which is key to select the most promising samples to be cached for future return to Earth.
Publications:
1) A. Alberini, T. Fornaro, C. García-Florentino, G. Poggiali, S. Biancalani, F. Renzi, T. Grazioso, N. Tasinato, D. Alvarado Jiménez, Á. Vicente-Retortillo, M. Becucci, E. A. Cloutis, S. Connell, G. Famiglini, A. Cappiello, G. M. Martinez, M. Battistuzzi, C. Lorenz, A. Steele, J. Martínez-Frías, F. Gómez, R. C. Wiens, K. P. Hand & J. R. Brucato, Photostability of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in hydrated magnesium sulfate under Martian ultraviolet irradiation to assist organics detection on Mars. Nature Scientific Reports, 15(1), 40484. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-24253-8
2) J. A. Hurowitz, M. M. Tice, A. C. Allwood, M. L. Cable, K. P. Hand, A. E. Murphy, K. Uckert, J. F. Bell III, T. Bosak, A. P. Broz, E. Clavé, A. Cousin, S. Davidoff, E. Dehouck, K. A. Farley, S. Gupta, S.-E. Hamran, K. Hickman-Lewis, J. R. Johnson, A. J. Jones, M. W. M. Jones, P. S. Jørgensen, L. C. Kah, H. Kalucha, T. V. Kizovski, D. A. Klevang, Y. Liu, F. M. McCubbin, E. L. Moreland, G. Paar, D. A. Paige, A. C. Pascuzzo, M. S. Rice, M. E. Schmidt, K. L. Siebach, S. Siljeström, J. I. Simon, K. M. Stack, A. Steele, N. J. Tosca, A. H. Treiman, S. J. VanBommel, L. A. Wade, B. P. Weiss, R. C. Wiens, K. H. Williford, R. Barnes, P. A. Barr, A. Bechtold, P. Beck, K. Benzerara, S. Bernard, O. Beyssac, R. Bhartia, A. J. Brown, G. Caravaca, E. L. Cardarelli, E. A. Cloutis, A. G. Fairén, D. T. Flannery, T. Fornaro, T. Fouchet, B. Garczynski, F. Goméz, E. M. Hausrath, C. M. Heirwegh, C. D. K. Herd, J. E. Huggett, J. L. Jørgensen, S. W. Lee, A. Y. Li, J. N. Maki, L. Mandon, N. Mangold, J. A. Manrique, J. Martínez-Frías, J. I. Núñez, L. P. O’Neil, B. J. Orenstein, N. Phelan, C. Quantin-Nataf, P. Russell, M. D. Schulte, E. Scheller, S. Sharma, D. L. Shuster, A. Srivastava, B. V. Wogsland, Z. U. Wolf, Redox-driven mineral and organic associations in Jezero Crater, Mars. Nature 2025, 645, 332–340. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09413-0
3) T. Fornaro, S. Sharma, R. S. Jakubek, G. Poggiali, J. R. Brucato, R. Bhartia, A. Steele, A. E. Murphy, M. Tice, M. D. Schulte, K. P. Hand, M. D. Fries, W. J. Abbey, A. Alberini, D. Alvarado-Jiménez, K. C. Benison, E. L. Berger, S. Biancalani, A. J. Brown, A. Broz, W. P. Buckley, D. K. Buckner, A. S. Burton, S. V. Bykov, E. L. Cardarelli, E. Cloutis, S. A. Connell, C. Garcia-Florentino, F. Gómez, N. C. Haney, C. Lee, V. Lino, P. Manini, F. M. McCubbin, M. Minitti, R. V. Morris, Y. Y. Phua, N. Randazzo, J. Razzell Hollis, F. Renzi, S. Siljeström, J. I. Simon, A. Srivastava, N. Tasinato, K. Uckert, R. C. Wiens, A. Williams, Evidence for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons detected in sulfates by Perseverance’s deep UV Raman spectrometer at Jezero crater, Mars. Nature Astronomy 2025, 9, 1648-1661. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-025-02638-z
4) C. García-Florentino, A. Alberini, S. Biancalani, O. McIntosh, J. Brucato, J. M. Madariaga, M. Jaber, T. Fornaro, Photodegradation of the biomarker L-histidine induced by edge sites of a clay mineral in the Martian harsh UV environment. Icarus 2025, 442, 116757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2025.116757
5) A. Alberini, T. Fornaro, C. García Florentino, M. Biczysko, I. Poblacion, J. Aramendia, J. M. Madariaga, G. Poggiali, Á. Vicente-Retortillo, K. C. Benison, S. Siljeström, S. Biancalani, C. Lorenz, E. A. Cloutis, D. M. Applin, F. Gómez, A. Steele, R. C. Wiens, K. P. Hand, J. R. Brucato, Investigating the stability of aromatic carboxylic acids in hydrated magnesium sulfate under UV irradiation to assist detection of organics on Mars. Nature Scientific Reports 2024, 14, 15945. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-66669-8
6) J. A. Manrique, G. Lopez-Reyes, M. Veneranda, A. Sanz-Arranz, J. S. Santamaria, S. Julve-Gonzalez, I. Reyes-Rodríguez , T. Fornaro, J. M. Madariaga, G. Arana, K. Castro, I. Gontijo, A. M. Ollila, S. K. Sharma, R. C. Wiens, S. Maurice, F. Rull-Perez, & SuperCam Raman Working Group, Characterization of SimulCam, a standoff Raman system for scientific support of SuperCam operations on Mars. Advances in Space Research 2024, 74(8), 3855-3876. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2024.08.007
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