Life Detection

Led by Nikhil Lahiri, the Life Detection team will equip the rover with the necessary tools for live sample inspection and analysis.

A collector situated around the bottom of the rover will collect soil samples, where a rotating auger mechanism will filter out larger particles. A conveyor system transports samples into the body of the rover to be dyed with Syto 9 and Propidium iodide. Along with two long-pass filters, a sliding mechanism assists with switching between two excitation lights of 500 nm and 595 nm. With the help of a custom fluorescent microscope for inspection, samples dyed with Syto 9 and Propidium iodide will emit red and green lights, respectively, in the presence of life.

Currently, the Life Detection team is working on the rock database, the base plate for all samples, and a design for sample separation.

Current Members

• Kevin Vasquez
• Diya Desai
• Josephine Dunphy
• Nikhil Lahiri
• Matthew Nestler
• Cindy Zhou

Interested in joining the club?

BUMRC is always open to recruiting new members from all backgrounds and majors. For more information, please contact us.