Andrew Steele of NAI’s CIW Team, a leader in astrobiotechnology for many years, is behind this current experiment, called the “Life Marker Chip.” A collection of immunoassays which have the potential to detect trace levels of biomarkers in the Martian environment, it launched earlier this week on ESA’s BIOPAN 6 experiment platform. The craft will spend 12 days in orbit, during which time the onboard experiments, including the Chip, will be exposed to microgravity.