Mercedes Moreno‐Paz
Papers
5
Total Citations
120
H-Index
4
About
Mercedes Moreno-Paz is a prominent astrobiologist whose research sits at the intersection of life detection technology, planetary science, and microbial ecology. Her work focuses on developing and field-testing biosignature detection instruments designed to search for signs of life on Mars, with particular emphasis on antibody array-based systems and lipid biomarker profiling in extreme terrestrial environments. Moreno-Paz has been a key contributor to the Signs Of LIfe Detector (SOLID) instrument series, helping advance life-detection technology from concept to field-deployable prototype. Her early landmark study on SOLID2, conducted during the MARTE Mars drilling simulation, has garnered 59 citations and demonstrated the viability of immunoassay-based detection in mission-relevant conditions. Subsequent fieldwork at two of Earth's most compelling Mars analogs — the iron-sulfur-rich Río Tinto river system in Spain (43 citations) and the hyperarid Atacama Desert in Chile — has systematically validated detection strategies for complex microbial biomarkers under increasingly Mars-like conditions. Her more recent contributions to the Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies (ARADS) and the Icebreaker Mars mission framework reflect her growing role in integrated, rover-mounted astrobiology systems, including contamination control protocols critical for planetary protection. Across her career, Moreno-Paz has helped transform theoretical astrobiology into rigorously field-tested science, making her work essential reading for researchers designing future Mars life-detection missions.
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