From Art Analysis to the Search for Life on Mars

Abstract

The ExoMars rover, operated by the European Space Agency and Roscosmos, will be launched in 2020 on its mission to Mars, carrying the first Raman spectrometer into space. Liam Harris explains how Raman spectroscopy, a technique much more commonly associated with art and heritage studies here on Earth, might help to detect signs of past or present life on the Red Planet.