The Oxygen Release Instrument: Space Mission Reactive Oxygen Species Measurements for Habitability Characterization, Biosignature Preservation Potential Assessment, and Evaluation of Human Health Hazards

We describe the design of an instrument, the OxR (for Oxygen Release), for the enzymatically specific and non-enzymatic detection and quantification of the reactive oxidant species (ROS), superoxide radicals (O(2)(•−)), and peroxides (O(2)(2−), e.g., H(2)O(2)) on the surface of Mars and Moon. The OxR instrument is designed to characterize planetary habitability, evaluate human health hazards, and identify sites with high biosignature preservation potential. The instrument can also be used for missions to the icy satellites of Saturn’s Titan and Enceladus, and Jupiter’s Europa. The principle of the OxR instrument is based on the conversion of (i) O(2)(•−) to O(2) via its enzymatic dismutation (which also releases H(2)O(2)), and of (ii) H(2)O(2) (free or released by the hydrolysis of peroxides and by the dismutation of O(2)(•−)) to O(2) via enzymatic decomposition. At stages i and ii, released O(2) is quantitatively detected by an O(2) sensor and stoichiometrically converted to moles of O(2)(•−) and H(2)O(2). A non-enzymatic alternative approach is also designed. These methods serve as the design basis for the construction of a new small-footprint instrument for specific oxidant detection. The minimum detection limit of the OxR instrument for O(2)(•−) and O(2)(2−) in Mars, Lunar, and Titan regolith, and in Europa and Enceladus ice is projected to be 10 ppb. The methodology of the OxR instrument can be rapidly advanced to flight readiness by leveraging the Phoenix Wet Chemical Laboratory, or microfluidic sample processing technologies.