A Radiation Tolerant Laser-Induced Fluorescence Detection System for a Potential Europa Lander Mission

Analytical techniques commonly implemented for in situ organic analysis on space missions lack thesensitivity or specificity necessary to definitively characterize key markers of current or past life, such asamino acids. To this end, our group has developed an analytical method for amino acid analysis at lowparts-per-billion levels, utilizing capillary electrophoresis coupled to laser-induced fluorescencedetection. Europa has been identified as a particularly appealing target for life detection, but its intenseradiation environment presents additional challenges for instrument development and qualification.Here, we present work toward the development of a flight qualifiable laser-induced fluorescencedetection system that could be implemented on potential future missions to the Jovian system whichcould experience total ionizing dose exposures of up to 300 krad. Our results show that a gallium nitridebased laser diode and micro-photomultiplier based system can meet our system performancerequirements under radiation conditions expected for a potential Europa Lander mission.