A central objective of planetary exploration is the search for signs of life or prebiotic chemistry 
beyond Earth, through the detection of biomolecular signatures on a range of potentially habitable 
environments such as icy moons, planets, and small bodies like asteroids. Building on previous 
iterations, this thesis presents advances to the Electronic Life-Detection Instrument for 
Enceladus/Europa (ELIE), designed to detect amino acids, RNA, DNA, and other charged polymers 
indicative of life through nanogap-based sensing. The latest iteration, ELIE 3.0, features 
downsized subsystems, enhanced capabilities, and a transition to integrated hardware. Key 
optimizations include consolidating a multi-amplifier design into a single Low Noise Amplifier 
(LNA) to reduce noise and system complexity. This required a detailed analysis of electrical noise 
and bias sources, leading to targeted mitigation strategies that improved measurement fidelity 
across various current ranges and sampling rates. In parallel, ELIE's software evolved from a basic 
command-line interface to a full-featured graphical user interface (GUI) with real-time logging, 
multithreading, and structured HDF5 data recording. The GUI provides intuitive control over system 
diagnostics and data acquisition through responsive, modular dialog boxes, leveraging techniques 
such as multithreading and asynchronous communication between worker threads. The GUI also features 
automated routines for gap formation, though automated sample delivery and electrophoresis 
integration remain future tasks. Pending future integration, a robust manual procedure was 
developed and validated, demonstrating successful preliminary detection of amino acids deposited 
onto the nanogap chip. Detection performance was evaluated using adaptive thresholding to account 
for baseline current fluctuations, alongside statistical methods designed to isolate signal events 
reliably.
Lastly, heat-sterilization tests were conducted to assess the nanogap chip’s resilience for future 
missions. These developments advance ELIE beyond early TRL 2, laying the groundwork for maturation 
toward higher readiness levels.
Committee
•  Prof. Christopher Carr – School of Aerospace Engineering (advisor)
•  Prof. Masatoshi (Toshi) Hirabayashi – School of Aerospace Engineering
•  Prof. Brian Gunter – School of Aerospace Engineering