Does life exist outside our Solar System A first step towards searching for life outside our Solar System is detecting life on Earth by using remote sensing applications. One powerful and unambiguous biosignature is the circular polarization resulting from the homochirality of biotic molecules and systems. We aim to investigate the possibility of identifying and characterizing life on Earth by using airborne spectropolarimetric observations from a hot air balloon during our field campaign in Switzerland, May 2022. In this proceeding we present the optical-setup and the data obtained from aerial circular spectropolarimetric measurements of farmland, forests, lakes and urban sites. We make use of the well-calibrated FlyPol instrument that measures the fractionally induced circular polarization (V/I) of (reflected) light with a sensitivity of < 10-4. The instrument operates in the visible spectrum, ranging from 400 to 900 nm. We demonstrate the possibility to distinguish biotic from abiotic features using circular polarization spectra and additional broadband linear polarization information. We review the performance of our optical-setup and discuss potential improvements. This sets the requirements on how to perform future airborne spectropolarimetric measurements of the Earth's surface features from several elevations.

Are we alone? In our quest to find life beyond Earth, we use our own planet to develop and verify new methods and techniques to remotely detect life. Our Life Signature Detection polarimeter (LSDpol), a snapshot full-Stokes spectropolarimeter to be deployed in the field and in space, looks for signals of life on Earth by sensing the linear and circular polarization states of reflected light. Examples of these biosignatures are linear polarization resulting from O2-A band and vegetation, e.g. the Red edge and the Green bump, as well as circular polarization resulting from the homochirality of biotic molecules. LSDpol is optimized for sensing circular polarization. To this end, LSDpol employs a spatial light modulator in the entrance slit of the spectrograph, a liquid-crystal quarter-wave retarder where the fast axis rotates as a function of slit position. The original design of LSDpol implemented a dual-beam spectropolarimeter by combining a quarter-wave plate with a polarization grating. Unfortunately, this design causes significant linear-to-circular cross-talk. In addition, it revealed spurious polarization modulation effects. Here, we present numerical simulations that illustrate how Fresnel diffraction effects can create these spurious modulations. We verified the simulations with accurate polarization state measurements in the lab using 100% linearly and circularly polarized light.

We present the performance characterization of the Life Signature Detection polarimeter (LSDpol), a prototype instrument designed to identify life on Earth and derive the integrated signal of Earth-as-an-exoplanet through global polarization measurements from the Airbus Bartolomeo platform on the International Space Station (ISS). LSDpol is optimized for the measurement of an unambiguous biomarker exhibited by chlorophyll and other bio-pigments: homochirality. The instrument is very sensitive to small signals in circular polarization induced by this preference in handedness found in biological molecules. LSDpol has the capability of measuring full Stokes parameters as a function of wavelength while containing no moving parts and a compact design suitable for SmallSats. The point-and-shoot configuration of this instrument uses a patterned liquid crystal spatial polarization modulator at the slit followed by a quarter wave retarder and a liquid crystal polarization grating. This combination decouples the faint circular and strong linear polarization signals through spatial modulation making it insensitive to cross-talk. In this paper we present detailed simulations and results from the performance characterization of LSDpol. We discuss the current design and the impact of instrumental artefacts such as distortions, flat field, and retardation errors in the quarter-waveplate based on simulations of the spatial modulation. Our study looks at the instruments’ capabilities in the laboratory and outdoors. Abiotic data from artificial vegetation and concrete are used as a control against the chlorophyll measurements of interest. Preliminary results from beetles, leaves and grass demonstrate the current capabilities of LSDpol. This versatile instrument concept will be ideally suited for remote sensing of homochirality, enabling vegetation health monitoring on Earth and detection of possible biotic signatures on icy moons.

Context. Homochirality is a generic and unique property of life on Earth and is considered a universal and agnostic biosignature. Homochirality induces fractional circular polarization in the incident light that it reflects. Because this circularly polarized light can be sensed remotely, it can be one of the most compelling candidate biosignatures in life detection missions. While there are also other sources of circular polarization, these result in spectrally flat signals with lower magnitude. Additionally, circular polarization can be a valuable tool in Earth remote sensing because the circular polarization signal directly relates to vegetation physiology. Aims. While high-quality circular polarization measurements can be obtained in the laboratory and under semi-static conditions in the field, there has been a significant gap to more realistic remote sensing conditions. Methods. In this study, we present sensitive circular spectropolarimetric measurements of various landscape elements taken from a fast-moving helicopter. Results. We demonstrate that during flight, within mere seconds of measurements, we can differentiate (S∕ N > 5) between grass fields, forests, and abiotic urban areas. Importantly, we show that with only nonzero circular polarization as a discriminant, photosynthetic organisms can even be measured in lakes. Conclusions. Circular spectropolarimetry can be a powerful technique to detect life beyond Earth, and we emphasize the potential of utilizing circular spectropolarimetry as a remote sensing tool to characterize and monitor in detail the vegetation physiology and terrain features of Earth itself.

In this White Paper, which was submitted in response to the European Space Agency (ESA) Voyage 2050 Call, we recommend the ESA plays a proactive role in developing a global collaborative effort to construct a large high-contrast imaging space telescope, e.g. as currently under study by NASA. Such a mission will be needed to characterize a sizable sample of temperate Earth-like planets in the habitable zones of nearby Sun-like stars and to search for extraterrestrial biological activity. We provide an overview of relevant European expertise, and advocate ESA to start a technology development program towards detecting life outside the Solar System. © 2021, The Author(s).

We present LOUPE, the Lunar Observatory for Unresolved Polarimetry of the Earth, a compact snapshot spectropolarimeter designed to observe the Earth from the Moon as if it were an exoplanet. Viewing the Earth as it would be seen by a faraway observer will offer novel insight into the spectropolarimetric signatures of planets harboring life, as well as a chance to refine algorithms for the retrieval of exoplanetary properties such as the presence of liquid water, clouds, vegetation, and more. LOUPE boasts a novel solid-state design based on patterned liquid crystal optics built atop the cosine HyperScout®, a flight-proven hyperspectral imager. Uniquely to LOUPE, a microlens array creates a two- dimensional grid of unresolved Earth-images on the detector, resulting in an array of "pale (blue) dots"filtered spectrally along one direction, with polarization modulation applied in the perpendicular direction. The clever use of custom-patterned liquid crystals as a passive modulator thus replaces the need for classical dispersion elements and polarization modulation optics. This pioneering approach enables LOUPE to simultaneously obtain spectral and Stokes measurements for the entire Earth, whilst the position of the Earth-dots also has the benefit of providing input for angle-dependent spectral and polarization calibration. Here we discuss our detailed design process and the challenges involved in creating a unique, space-qualified spectropolarimeter with no moving parts and no bulky optics, whilst maintaining flexibility for different usage scenarios: rovers, landers, orbiters, and more. We present a performance trade-off and optical design informed by ray tracing with polarization effects, to prepare for the demodulation of simulated Earth observation data.

Context. Polarimetric imaging is one of the most effective techniques for high-contrast imaging and for the characterization of protoplanetary disks, and it has the potential of becoming instrumental in the characterization of exoplanets. The Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet REsearch (SPHERE) instrument installed on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) contains the InfraRed Dual-band Imager and Spectrograph (IRDIS) with a dual-beam polarimetric imaging (DPI) mode, which offers the capability of obtaining linear polarization images at high contrast and resolution. Aims. We aim to provide an overview of the polarimetric imaging mode of VLT/SPHERE/IRDIS and study its optical design to improve observing strategies and data reduction. Methods. For H-band observations of TW Hydrae, we compared two data reduction methods that correct for instrumental polarization effects in different ways: a minimization of the "noise"image (Uφ), and a correction method based on a polarimetric model that we have developed, as presented in Paper II of this study. Results. We use observations of TW Hydrae to illustrate the data reduction. In the images of the protoplanetary disk around this star, we detect variability in the polarized intensity and angle of linear polarization that depend on the pointing-dependent instrument configuration. We explain these variations as instrumental polarization effects and correct for these effects using our model-based correction method. Conclusions. The polarimetric imaging mode of IRDIS has proven to be a very successful and productive high-contrast polarimetric imaging system. However, the instrument performance is strongly dependent on the specific instrument configuration. We suggest adjustments to future observing strategies to optimize polarimetric efficiency in field-tracking mode by avoiding unfavorable derotator angles. We recommend reducing on-sky data with the pipeline called IRDAP, which includes the model-based correction method (described in Paper II) to optimally account for the remaining telescope and instrumental polarization effects and to retrieve the true polarization state of the incident light.

Many biologically produced chiral molecules such as amino acids and sugars show a preference for left or right handedness (homochirality). Light reflected by biological materials such as algae and leaves therefore exhibits a small amount of circular polarization that strongly depends on wavelength. Our Life Signature Detection polarimeter (LSDpol) is optimized to measure these signatures of life. LSDpol is a compact spectropolarimeter concept with no moving parts that instantaneously measures linear and circular polarization averaged over the field of view with a sensitivity of better than 10-4. We expect to launch the instrument into orbit after validating its performance on the ground and from aircraft. LSDpol is based on a spatially varying quarter-wave retarder that is implemented with a patterned liquid-crystal. It is the first optical element to maximize the polarimetric sensitivity. Since this pattern as well as the entrance slit of the spectrograph have to be imaged onto the detector, the slit serves as the aperture, and an internal field stop limits the field of view. The retarder's fast axis angle varies linearly along one spatial dimension. A fixed quarter-wave retarder combined with a polarization grating act as the disperser and the polarizing beam-splitter. Circular and linear polarization are thereby encoded at incompatible modulation frequencies across the spectrum, which minimizes the potential cross-talk from linear into circular polarization.

Context. Circumstellar disks and self-luminous giant exoplanets or companion brown dwarfs can be characterized through direct-imaging polarimetry at near-infrared wavelengths. SPHERE/IRDIS at the Very Large Telescope has the capabilities to perform such measurements, but uncalibrated instrumental polarization effects limit the attainable polarimetric accuracy. Aims. We aim to characterize and correct the instrumental polarization effects of the complete optical system, that is, the telescope and SPHERE/IRDIS. Methods. We created a detailed Mueller matrix model in the broadband filters Y, J, H, and Ks and calibrated the model using measurements with SPHERE's internal light source and observations of two unpolarized stars. We developed a data-reduction method that uses the model to correct for the instrumental polarization effects, and applied it to observations of the circumstellar disk of T Cha. Results. The instrumental polarization is almost exclusively produced by the telescope and SPHERE's first mirror and varies with telescope altitude angle. The crosstalk primarily originates from the image derotator (K-mirror). At some orientations, the derotator causes severe loss of signal (> 90% loss in the H- and Ks-band) and strongly offsets the angle of linear polarization. With our correction method we reach, in all filters, a total polarimetric accuracy of ≲ 0.1% in the degree of linear polarization and an accuracy of a few degrees in angle of linear polarization. Conclusions. The correction method enables us to accurately measure the polarized intensity and angle of linear polarization of circumstellar disks, and is a vital tool for detecting spatially unresolved (inner) disks and measuring the polarization of substellar companions. We have incorporated the correction method in a highly-automated end-to-end data-reduction pipeline called IRDAP, which we made publicly available online.

We provide a proof of the technical feasibility of LOUPE, the first integral-field snapshot spectropolarimeter, designed to monitor the reflected flux and polarization spectrum of Earth. These are to be used as benchmark data for the retrieval of biomarkers and atmospheric and surface characteristics from future direct observations of exoplanets. We perform a design tradeoff for an implementation in which LOUPE performs snapshot integral-field spectropolarimetry at visible wavelengths. We used off-the-shelf optics to construct a polarization modulator, in which polarization information is encoded into the spectrum as a wavelength-dependent modulation, while spatial resolution is maintained using a micro-lens array. The performance of this design concept is validated in a laboratory setup. Our proof-of-concept is capable of measuring a grid of 50 x 50 polarization spectra between 610 and 780 nm of a mock target planet - proving the merit of this design. The measurements are affected by systematic noise on the percent level, and we discuss how to mitigate this in future iterations. We conclude that LOUPE can be small and robust while meeting the science goals of this particular space application, and note the many potential applications that may benefit from our concept for doing snapshot integral-field spectropolarimetry.