NASA Goddard scientist Jennifer Eigenbrode has been selected as the recipient of the 2009 IRAD Innovator of the Year award. Her work has added important capabilities to the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument, which will be included on the upcoming Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). Dr. Eigenbrode’s work will allow MSL to analyze large carbon molecules if they are discovered on Mars, and could play an important role in determining the potential for past or present life on the Red Planet.

When MSL reaches Mars in 2012, the rover will analyze samples of martian soil and rock drillings to search for signs of life. If MSL discovers large organic molecules in any of its samples, Eigenbrode’s experiment will help determine how the molecules evolved.

“Our experiment preserves information on how these molecules formed,” said Eigenbrode. “What we’ll get are key observations that tell us about organic carbon sources and processing on Mars – shedding light on the planet’s carbon cycle. Even if we don’t detect signs of life, we might learn why not.”

According to SAM Principal Investigator, Paul Mahaffy, “With the addition of Jennifer’s chemical toolkit, the range of organic molecules that SAM can detect has been expanded with no hardware modifications. It provides a promising path to contribute to our understanding of the biological potential on Mars.”

For more details on the SAM instrument, visit: http://ael.gsfc.nasa.gov/marsSAM.shtml

For more information on Dr. Jennifer Eigenbrode, visit:
http://ael.gsfc.nasa.gov/ael_bio_eigenbrode.html, http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/articles/astrobiologist-eigenbrode-profiled-in-goddard-tech-trends/,
http://gsfctechnology.gsfc.nasa.gov/2009InnOfYear.htm