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takyon writes:

A new capillary electrophoresis technique could be much more sensitive to the presence of amino acids on other worlds in our solar system:

A simple chemistry method could vastly enhance how scientists search for signs of life on other planets. The test uses a liquid-based technique known as capillary electrophoresis to separate a mixture of organic molecules into its components. It was designed specifically to analyze for amino acids, the structural building blocks of all life on Earth. The method is 10,000 times more sensitive than current methods employed by spacecraft like NASA's Mars Curiosity rover, according to a new study published in Analytical Chemistry [open, DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.6b04338] [DX]. The study was carried out by researchers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.

One of the key advantages of the authors' new way of using capillary electrophoresis is that the process is relatively simple and easy to automate for liquid samples expected on ocean world missions: it involves combining a liquid sample with a liquid reagent, followed by chemical analysis under conditions determined by the team. By shining a laser across the mixture -- a process known as laser-induced fluorescence detection -- specific molecules can be observed moving at different speeds. They get separated based on how quickly they respond to electric fields. While capillary electrophoresis has been around since the early 1980s, this is the first time it has been tailored specifically to detect extraterrestrial life on an ocean world, said lead author Jessica Creamer, a postdoctoral scholar at JPL.

Now we just need a robotic craft capable of drilling a hole through kilometers of crust in order to reach one of the possible subsurface water oceans on Ceres, Ganymede, Callisto, Europa, Enceladus, Titan, Dione, Titania, Oberon, Triton, Pluto, Eris, etc.

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