Detecting Fossilized Microscopic Life Forms on Mars with Dual-Energy CT

This purpose of this SBIR Phase II project is to build a prototype dual-energy CT scanner to inspect and analyze the small rocks and minerals for evidnece of fossilized life. The goal is to achieve three-dimensional volume images with 10-micron spatial resolution in the reconstructed image and to provide identification at that resolution, of both the density and the effective atomic number of the material being examined. The scanner will use a precision turntable to manipulate the part and an array of CZT detectors to detect full-energy photons from the decay of a 109Cd radioactive source.