ISSO Y2005 Annual Report | Contents

Low-Frequency Dielectric Spectroscopy of Martian Soil Samples • 116-118,126
John H. Miller, Jr., Jaroslaw Wosik, David S. McKay, David Warmflash
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Abstract--Investigation concentrates on Martian soil simulants and live cell suspensions using low-frequency dielectric spectroscopy and related techniques, such as nonlinear harmonic response. Such methods hold tremendous potential in the development of sensors that could test for subsurface microbial life on Mars with numerous additional applications. In previous work, UH and NASA-JSC researchers measured the low-frequency dielectric properties of soil samples known to be Mars analogues, as well as known live cell suspensions. In this initial study, they tested common soil and JSC Mars-1, a sample of volcanic ash from Hawaii developed for use as a Mars regolith simulant. Biologically active, JSC Mars-1 contains microorganisms and biomolecules equivalent to 10⁶-10⁷ cells/gram, less than common soils. More recently, researchers have focused on nonlinear harmonic response as a method of revealing potential signatures of live organisms. Recent investigations include studies of whole cells as well as extracted organelles, such as mitochondria and chloroplasts.