Innovations in the Search for Life Beyond Earth

NASA JPL is developing a new suite of instruments to ingest and analyze liquid samples, and a team of scientists thinks that they can use nitrous oxide as a biosignature.

IMAGE: JPL’s OWLS combines powerful chemical-analysis instruments that look for the building blocks of life with microscopes that search for cells. This version of OWLS would be miniaturized and customized for use on future missions. CREDIT: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The search for life beyond Earth is one of the more fascinating scientific endeavors currently…