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Florian Kehl

Florian Kehl

Space instruments scientist specializing in life-detection and astrobiology

Zurich, Switzerland
ethz+1
Joined February 2026
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Summary

Expert in designing and building automated, flight-relevant instruments for life detection and in-situ chemical analysis, with a strong track record at NASA JPL and in collaborative instrument concepts for ocean worlds and Mars. nasa+2
Active academic educator and project manager in Switzerland, teaching biosignatures and space systems courses while helping build institutional space programmes and student-industry collaborations at ETH Zurich, University of Zurich, and Lucerne University. ethz+2
Experienced field scientist and systems integrator who has led and participated in planetary-analog field campaigns (Atacama, Arctic) to validate instruments and workflows under Mars- and ocean-world-like conditions. nasa+1
Contributor to open-hardware and community science efforts for microfluidics and lab automation, publishing open designs and software to lower barriers for portable chemical and biological instrumentation. nih+1

Work

Education

Projects

Writing

A Mission Simulating the Search for Life on Mars with Automated Drilling, Sample Handling, and Life Detection Instruments Performed in the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert, Chile

January 1, 2023

Reports on a field demonstration (ARADS) of rover-based drilling, sample handling, and life detection instruments in the Atacama Desert, including results showing biomarker detection in subsurface basin samples; lists Kehl as a contributing author.

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Europan Molecular Indicators of Life Investigation (EMILI) for a Future Europa Lander Mission

January 1, 2022

Describes the EMILI instrument concept for detecting and characterizing molecular biosignatures on a potential Europa Lander, combining liquid extraction, capillary electrophoresis, and gas chromatography to achieve broad analytical coverage and high sensitivity.

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Open-source lab hardware: A versatile microfluidic control and sensor platform

January 1, 2021

Presents a compact, open-source microfluidic control and sensing architecture (MCSP) for laboratory and portable chemical/biological applications, including hardware design, firmware, and application notes.

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Fully automated microchip electrophoresis analyzer for potential life detection missions

January 1, 2020

Describes development of a fully automated microchip electrophoresis analyzer suitable for sensitive amino-acid detection in space-relevant liquid samples.

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Hobbies

Early interest in rocketry and building small rockets (hobbyist rocketry from childhood). uzh