Organic chemistry is ubiquitous in the Solar System, and both Mars and a number of icy satellites of the outer Solar System show substantial promise for having hosted or hosting life. Here, we propose a novel astrobiologically focused instrument suite that could be included as scientific payload in future missions to Mars or the icy moons: the Complex Molecules Detector, or CMOLD. CMOLD is devoted to determining different levels of prebiotic/biotic chemical and structural targets following a chemically general approach (i.e., valid for both terrestrial and nonterrestrial life), as well as their compatibility with terrestrial life. CMOLD is based on a microfluidic block that distributes a liquid suspension sample to three instruments by using complementary technologies: (1) novel microscopic techniques for identifying ultrastructures and cell-like morphologies, (2) Raman spectroscopy for detecting universal intramolecular complexity that leads to biochemical functionality, and (3) bioaffinity-based systems (including antibodies and aptamers as capture probes) for finding life-related and nonlife-related molecular structures. We highlight our current developments to make this type of instruments flight-ready for upcoming Mars missions: the Raman spectrometer included in the science payload of the ESAs Rosalind Franklin rover (Raman Laser Spectrometer instrument) to be launched in 2022, and the biomarker detector that was included as payload in the NASA Icebreaker lander mission proposal (SOLID instrument). CMOLD is a robust solution that builds on the combination of three complementary, existing techniques to cover a wide spectrum of targets in the search for (bio)chemical complexity in the Solar System.

中文翻译：

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复杂分子探测器 (CMOLD)：基于流体的仪器套件，用于搜索火星和冰冷卫星上的（生物）化学复杂性。


有机化学在太阳系中无处不在，火星和太阳系外的许多冰冷卫星都显示出存在生命的巨大希望。在这里，我们提出了一种以天体生物学为重点的新型仪器套件，可以作为未来火星或冰卫星任务中的科学有效载荷：复杂分子探测器（CMOLD）。 CMOLD致力于按照化学通用方法（即对陆地和非地球生命都有效）确定不同水平的生命前/生物化学和结构目标，以及它们与陆地生命的相容性。 CMOLD 基于微流体模块，通过使用互补技术将液体悬浮液样品分配到三个仪器：(1) 用于识别超微结构和细胞样形态的新颖显微技术，(2) 用于检测通用分子内复杂性的拉曼光谱，从而产生生化结果（3）基于生物亲和力的系统（包括作为捕获探针的抗体和适体），用于寻找生命相关和非生命相关的分子结构。我们重点介绍我们目前的进展，使此类仪器为即将到来的火星任务做好飞行准备：拉曼光谱仪包含在将于 2022 年发射的 ESA 罗莎琳德·富兰克林漫游车（拉曼激光光谱仪仪器）的科学有效载荷中，以及生物标记探测器被作为有效载荷包含在 NASA 破冰船着陆器任务提案中（SOLID 仪器）。 CMOLD 是一种强大的解决方案，它建立在三种互补的现有技术的组合之上，可覆盖在太阳系中寻找（生物）化学复杂性的广泛目标。