Luoth Chou

(RESEARCH AST, SOLAR SYSTEMS ANALYSIS)

Luoth Chou's Contact Card & Information.
Email:	luoth.chou@nasa.gov
Phone:	301.614.5220
Org Code:	699
Address:	NASA/GSFC Mail Code 699 Greenbelt, MD 20771
Employer:	NASA

Brief Bio

Current Projects

Talks, Presentations and Posters

Selected Public Outreach

Brief Bio

Dr. Luoth (Lu) Chou is an astrobiologist and instrument scientist with an interest in developing new technologies for organic biosignatures detection and characterization, and to search for life in the solar system. She is currently a Research Scientist working on the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument suite onboard the Curiosity Rover in the Planetary Environments Lab at NASA GSFC. This research is focused on characterizing the organic matter composition of Mars in search for habitability and potential signs of life. She is also focusing on the development of front-end separation technologies that can be coupled to sensitive molecular detectors such as mass spectrometers. Prior to her current position, she was a NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellow, working with Dr. Paul Mahaffy and Dr. Sarah Stewart Johnson (Georgetown University) on the Laboratory for Agnostic Biosignatures project.

Dr. Chou received her B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Maryland at College Park, and her Ph.D. in Earth and Environmental Sciences from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her graduate research was focused on understanding the biogeochemistry of a cryogenic microbial ecosystem in the subsurface of Antarctica, while under the supervision of Dr. Fabien Kenig.

Current Projects

In situ characterization of organic molecules on Mars using the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite

Astrobiology

The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite, onboard the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, is capable of characterizing organic compounds in Martian sediments using thermal volatilization techniques (Evolved Gas Analysis), and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). This research is specifically focused on using wet chemistry derivatizing reagents and GC-MS to help search for non-volatile organic molecules on Mars using SAM.

Development of flight chromatography instruments

Technology & Missions

Dr. Chou leads a team of engineers and scientists in the development of front-end separation systems that can be coupled to flight mass spectrometers. The goal of this project is to establish a foundation for chromatography science at NASA GSFC and prepare for future high priority life detection missions, including those to Mars, Enceladus, or Europa, as well as for lunar applications.

Education

Ph.D. Earth and Environmental Sciences (2019). University of Illinois at Chicago.

Dissertation: "The Organic Matter of Lake Vida, Antarctica: Biogeochemistry of an Icy Planetary World Analog". Advisor: Fabien Kenig.
NASA Earth and Space Science (NESSF) Fellow

B.S. Microbiology (2013). (Minor: Astronomy) University of Maryland, College Park.

Positions/Employment

Research Physical Scientist

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center - Greenbelt, MD

December 2023 - Present

Postdoctoral Research Associate

CRESST II - University of Maryland, Baltimore County

March 2023 - December 2023

Investigating organic matter on Mars using the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument suite onboard the Curiosity rover as part of the Mars Science Laboratory mission.

NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP) Fellow / Georgetown Postdoctoral Fellow

USRA, Georgetown University - NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

September 2019 - February 2023

Agnostic biosignature detection using mass spectrometry

Graduate Researcher

University of Illinois at Chicago - Chicago, IL

August 2013 - August 2019

The Organic Matter of Lake Vida, Antarctica: Biogeochemistry of an Icy Planetary World Analog

Undergraduate Research Intern

Food and Drug Administration - Laurel, MD

June 2011 - May 2013

The molecular genetics of Listeria monocytogenes, a food-borne pathogen, under cold and salinity stress

Special Experience

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Planetary Winter School. 2021
NASA Dragonfly Meeting Observer Program, Participant. November 2020.
Santa Fe Institute (2 weeks). Visiting Scientist. November 2019.
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (10 weeks remote, 1 week on site). July 2017. Project Manager for JPL Planetary Science Summer Seminar. Mission design exercise for a Centaur Reconnaissance Mission.
Biosignatures and the Search for Life on Mars Summer School (2 weeks). Summer 2016. Iceland.
The International Geobiology Course (5 weeks). Summer 2015. California, Nevada, and Catalina Island.
The History and Philosophy of Astrobiology Summer School (1 week). Summer 2015. Ven Island, Sweden.
Josep Comas i Solà International Summer School in Astrobiology (1 week). Summer 2014. Santander, Spain.

Publications

Refereed

2025. "New Analytical Methodology to Reveal Biosignatures on Mars and Ocean Worlds.", Analytical Chemistry, 97 (42): 23050-23061 [10.1021/acs.analchem.5c01634] [Journal Article/Letter]

2025. "Diverse Organic Molecules on Mars Revealed by the SAM TMAH Experiment.", Nature Communications, [Journal Article/Letter]

2024. "Environmental Changes Recorded in Sedimentary Rocks in the Clay-Sulfate Transition Region in Gale Crater, Mars: Results from the Sample Analysis at Mars-Evolved Gas Analysis Instrument onboard the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover.", Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 129 e2024JE008587 [Full Text] [10.1029/2024JE008587] [Journal Article/Letter]

2024. "Chapter 8: Searching for Life Beyond Earth.", Astrobiology, 24 (S1): S-164-S-185 [10.1089/ast.2021.0104] [Journal Article/Letter]

2024. "Chapter 9: Life as We Don't Know It.", Astrobiology, 24 (S1): S-186-S-201 [10.1089/ast.2021.0103] [Journal Article/Letter]

2024. "Chapter 1: The Astrobiology Primer 3.0.", Astrobiology, 24 (S1): S-4-S-39 [10.1089/ast.2021.0129] [Journal Article/Letter]

2023. "Detection of Short Peptide Biosignatures of Psychrophiles via Laser Desorption Mass Spectrometry.", Astrobiology, 23 (6): 657–669 [Full Text] [10.1089/ast.2022.0138] [Journal Article/Letter]

2022. "Science Autonomy for Ocean Worlds Astrobiology: A Perspective.", Astrobiology, [10.1089/ast.2021.0062] [Journal Article/Letter]

2021. "Planetary Mass Spectrometry for Agnostic Life Detection in the Solar System.", Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences, 8 (173): [Full Text] [10.3389/fspas.2021.755100] [Journal Article/Letter]

2021. "The Grayness of the Origin of Life.", Life, 11 (6): 498 [10.3390/life11060498] [Journal Article/Letter]

2021. "Organic sulfones in the brine of Lake Vida, East Antarctica.", Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 292 409-426 [10.1016/j.gca.2020.10.001] [Journal Article/Letter]

2020. "Mars Extant Life: What's Next? Conference Report.", Astrobiology, 20 (6): 785-814 [Full Text] [10.1089/ast.2020.2237] [Journal Article/Letter]

2019. "Comment on “Evaluation of the Tenax Trap in the Sample Analysis at Mars Instrument Suite on the Curiosity Rover as a Potential Hydrocarbon Source for Chlorinated Organics Detected in Gale Crater” by Miller et al. (2015).", Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 124 (2): 644-647 [10.1029/2018je005606] [Journal Article/Letter]

2018. "Camilla: A centaur reconnaissance and impact mission concept.", Planetary and Space Science, 164 184-193 [10.1016/j.pss.2018.07.008] [Journal Article/Letter]

2018. "Effects of legacy metabolites from previous ecosystems on the environmental metabolomics of the brine of Lake Vida, East Antarctica.", Organic Geochemistry, 122 161-170 [10.1016/j.orggeochem.2018.05.002] [Journal Article/Letter]

2018. "Secondary Electrons as an Energy Source for Life.", Astrobiology, 18 (1): 73-85 [10.1089/ast.2016.1510] [Journal Article/Letter]

2016. "Perchlorate and volatiles of the brine of Lake Vida (Antarctica): Implication for the in situ analysis of Mars sediments.", Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, 121 (7): 1190-1203 [10.1002/2015je004964] [Journal Article/Letter]

2015. "A novel gene, lstC, of Listeria monocytogenes is implicated in high salt tolerance.", Food Microbiology, 48 72-82 [10.1016/j.fm.2014.12.008] [Journal Article/Letter]

Non-Refereed

2025. "The Importance of Aqueous Metabolites in the Martian Subsurface for Understanding Habitability, Organic Chemical Evolution, and Potential Biology.", white paper, [Full Text] [10.48550/arXiv.2508.14050] [Other]

2025. "Community need for an Astrobiology Sample Repository and Sample Reference Suite.", white paper, [Full Text] [10.48550/arXiv.2504.03813] [Other]

2025. "Science Autonomy using Machine Learning for Astrobiology.", white paper, [Full Text] [10.48550/arXiv.2504.00709] [Other]

2025. "Technology gaps in in situ organic matter characterization for habitability and life detection investigations.", White paper for NASA Decadal Astrobiology Research and Exploration Strategy (NASA-DARES 2025), [Other]

2021. "Appeal for Improved Sample Selection, Preparation and Interpretation Standards for Organic Biosignature Experiments Performed by Flight Instruments.", Planetary Science and Astrobiology Decadal Survey 2023-2032, 520 [Journal Article/Letter]

2021. "Non-Robotic Science Autonomy Development.", Vol. 53, Issue 4 (Planetary/Astrobiology Decadal Survey Whitepapers), 53 (4): [10.3847/25c2cfeb.ee4e6b64] [Journal Article/Letter]

2021. "We Should Search for Extant Life on Mars in this Decade.", Vol. 53, Issue 4 (Planetary/Astrobiology Decadal Survey Whitepapers), 53 (4): [10.3847/25c2cfeb.36ef5e33] [Journal Article/Letter]

2021. "Towards a more universal life detection strategy.", Vol. 53, Issue 4 (Planetary/Astrobiology Decadal Survey Whitepapers), 53 (4): [Full Text] [10.3847/25c2cfeb.53a24171] [Journal Article/Letter]

Talks, Presentations and Posters

Invited

Searching for Life-as-we-don't-know-it Using Planetary Mass Spectrometry

April 2023

Pennsylvania State University. Earth Talks Series.

Leveraging Planetary Mass Spectrometry for Agnostic Life Detection

May 2022

Astrobiology Science Conference 2022. Invited talk for Session: Detecting Life-as-we-don’t-know-it

Signatures of Life in Cold, Subsurface Brines: An Astrobiology Analog for Icy Planetary Worlds

February 2022

Georgia Institute of Technology, Astrobiology & Planetary Science Seminar

Signatures of Life in Cold, Subsurface Brines: An Astrobiology Analog for Icy Planetary Worlds

May 2021

Invited talk for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Department of Marine Chemistry & Geochemistry. Departmental Seminar.

Biosignatures of Life-as-we-don't-know-it

April 2021

Invited talk for University of Florida, Department of Geological Sciences, Astrobiology Seminar.

Agnostic Biosignatures Detection Using Mass Spectrometry

March 2021

Invited talk for University of Maryland, College Park. Department of Geology. Departmental Seminar.

Universal Life Detection Strategies and applicability to Mars missions

November 2020

Invited talk for the NASEM Planetary Science & Astrobiology Decadal Survey Panel on Mars

Biosignatures, familiar and unfamiliar

October 2020

Invited lecture for Astrobiology course at Williams College

Agnostic Biosignatures Detection using Mass Spectrometry

July 2020

Solar System Exploration Division Science Seminar for the Director. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Environmental Geochemistry: Introduction to Organic Geochemistry

February 2017

UIC Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

Astrobiology: in search of who’s out there by looking at who we are

February 2016

UIC Biology Colloquium

Other

Selected Public Outreach

NASA Goddard Engage Session. Mars Science Laboratory 10th Landing Anniversary

August 2022 - August 2022

Served as a panelist to discuss the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument suite and its scientific and technical achievements in studying Mars in the past decade

NASA Goddard CRESST II Undergraudate Interaction Day

October 2021 - October 2021

Gave an lecture to a number of undergraduate students on NASA research as part of the CRESST Internship program

NASA GSFC Early Career Scientist Spotlight

May 2021 - May 2021

Astrobiology Lecture at the Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart (Bethesda, Maryland)

April 2021 - April 2021

Gave an interactive lecture on bioorganic chemistry and how to search for life on Mars

Interview with NASA Goddard SSED Science Exhibit Team

October 2020 - October 2020

Subject matter expert for content development for the new planetary exhibit at the Goddard Visitor Center

Visits to Chicago Montessori School

April 2017 - April 2019

Co-create lesson plans and in-class demonstrations of geology, and planetary science. Visited the Chicago Montessori School multiple times over a period of three years.

Visit to Brentano Math and Science Academy

December 2018 - December 2018

SAGANet.org Astrobiology “expert”.

August 2018 - August 2019

Volunteer as an Astrobiology "Expert" at SAGANet.org. Previously monthly newsletter organizer.

AbGradCon Outreach Event. “An Evening of Wonder – Life and Art on Earth and Beyond”

June 2018 - June 2018

Volunteered as an astrobiologist to speak with the general public at Georgia Tech University

March for Science Chicago - Social Media Organizer and Science Marshal

February 2017 - April 2017

Part of the organizing group for the March for Science at Chicago event. On April 22nd, 2017, approximately 60,000+ people attended the march.

Contact Us

For general inquiries about the Sciences and Exploration Directorate.

Jocelyn Lynch

Project Support Specialist

301-286-6066 jocelyn.m.lynch@nasa.gov

Ellie Jeffries

Project Support Specialist

301-286-6066 ellie.jeffries@nasa.gov

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