PERISCOPE: Detecting and Mapping Organic Compounds in the Near Subsurface

Icy locations on Earth have been found to contain habitable environments and microorganisms with adaptations to cold temperatures. Martian ice, found in polar layered deposits and in the subsurface at mid-latitudes, is therefore a high priority target for future landed missions with astrobiological science objectives. The PERISCOPE instrument is intended to enable in situ organic detection and classification in these environments, and meet the accommodation limitations of small robotic platforms. Here we report on the status of technology maturation efforts to advance PERISCOPE to TRL 5 for a Mars mid-latitude environment, and on science validation efforts to demonstrate organic detection and mapping in the near subsurface. To access the near subsurface, an optical relay system was developed to deliver the laser light to the sample and collect the resulting fluorescence. A fieldable version of PERISCOPE was deployed to the Gilkey Glacier, Juneau, AK, and to volcanic deposits in Bishop, CA. In these environments, PERISCOPE obtained subsurface hyperspectral maps identifying ultraviolet fluorescence hotspots that serve as lines of evidence for the presence of organic matter.