Tracing the fate of carbon and the atmospheric evolution of Mars

Rovibrational Energies of 13C16O2 Determined with Kilohertz Accuracy

Accurate spectroscopic data of carbon dioxide are widely used in many important applications, such as carbon monitoring missions. Here, we present comb-locked cavity ring-down saturation spectroscopy of the second most abundant isotopologue of CO2, 13C16O2. We determined the positions of 88 lines in three vibrational bands in the 1.6 μm region, 30011e/30012e/30013e-00001e, with an accuracy of a few kHz. Based on the analysis of combination differences, we obtained for the first time the ground-state rotational energies with kHz accuracy. We also provide a set of hybrid line positions for 150 13C16O2 transitions. The rotational energies (J < 50) in the 30013e vibrational state can be fitted by a set of rotational and centrifugal constants with deviations within a few kHz, indicating that the 30013e state is free of perturbations. These precise isotopic line positions will be utilized to improve the Hamiltonian model and quantitative remote sensing of carbon dioxide. Moreover, they will help to track changes in the carbon source and sink through isotopic analysis.

Can Isotopologues Be Used as Biosignature Gases in Exoplanet Atmospheres?

Isotopologue ratios are anticipated to be one of the most promising signs of life that can be observed remotely. On Earth, carbon isotopes have been used for decades as evidence of modern and early metabolic processes. In fact, carbon isotopes may be the oldest evidence for life on Earth, though there are alternative geological processes that can lead to the same magnitude of fractionation. However, using isotopologues as biosignature gases in exoplanet atmospheres presents several challenges. Most significantly, we will only have limited knowledge of the underlying abiotic carbon reservoir of an exoplanet. Atmospheric carbon isotope ratios will thus have to be compared against the local interstellar medium or, better yet, their host star. A further substantial complication is the limited precision of remote atmospheric measurements using spectroscopy. The various metabolic processes that cause isotope fractionation cause less fractionation than anticipated measurement precision (biological fractionation is typically 2 to 7%). While this level of precision is easily reachable in the laboratory or with special in situ instruments, it is out of reach of current telescope technology to measure isotope ratios for terrestrial exoplanet atmospheres. Thus, gas isotopologues are poor biosignatures for exoplanets given our current and foreseeable technological limitations.

Investigating Europa's Habitability with the Europa Clipper

The habitability of Europa is a property within a system, which is driven by a multitude of physical and chemical processes and is defined by many interdependent parameters, so that its full characterization requires collaborative investigation. To explore Europa as an integrated system to yield a complete picture of its habitability, the Europa Clipper mission has three primary science objectives: (1) characterize the ice shell and ocean including their heterogeneity, properties, and the nature of surface-ice-ocean exchange; (2) characterize Europa's composition including any non-ice materials on the surface and in the atmosphere, and any carbon-containing compounds; and (3) characterize Europa's geology including surface features and localities of high science interest. The mission will also address several cross-cutting science topics including the search for any current or recent activity in the form of thermal anomalies and plumes, performing geodetic and radiation measurements, and assessing high-resolution, co-located observations at select sites to provide reconnaissance for a potential future landed mission. Synthesizing the mission's science measurements, as well as incorporating remote observations by Earth-based observatories, the James Webb Space Telescope, and other space-based resources, to constrain Europa's habitability, is a complex task and is guided by the mission's Habitability Assessment Board (HAB).

Aqueous alteration processes in Jezero crater, Mars-implications for organic geochemistry

The Perseverance rover landed in Jezero crater, Mars, in February 2021. We used the Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC) instrument to perform deep-ultraviolet Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy of three rocks within the crater. We identify evidence for two distinct ancient aqueous environments at different times. Reactions with liquid water formed carbonates in an olivine-rich igneous rock. A sulfate-perchlorate mixture is present in the rocks, which probably formed by later modifications of the rocks by brine. Fluorescence signatures consistent with aromatic organic compounds occur throughout these rocks and are preserved in minerals related to both aqueous environments.

A Review of the "Black Beauty" Martian Regolith Breccia and Its Martian Habitability Record

The regolith breccia Northwest Africa (NWA) 7034 and paired samples are unique meteorite representatives of the martian crust. They are water rich, lithologically varied, and preserve the oldest martian zircon grains yet discovered that formed ca. 4500-4300 Ma. The meteorite thus provides us with an invaluable record of the crustal and environmental conditions on early Mars. Resetting of some radioisotopic chronometers occurred in response to a major thermal disturbance event ca. 1500-1400 Ma, likely caused by an impactor that brecciated and redeposited NWA 7034 near the surface in an ejecta blanket. Lithologies comprising NWA 7034 were then aqueously altered by a long-lasting impact-induced hydrothermal system, before being excavated and ejected by a subsequent impact at ca. 5-15 Ma. This review compiles chronological and petrological information into an overarching geochronological summary for NWA 7034 and paired samples. We then provide a synopsis for the volatile (H₂O, C) inventory and hydrothermal alteration history of NWA 7034. From this geochronological history and volatile inventory, we interpret and assess two potential periods of martian habitability: (1) an early window of pre-Noachian planetary habitability, and (2) impact-derived hydrothermal systems that allowed intermittent habitable crater environments well into the Amazonian.

Methanogenesis from Mineral Carbonates, a Potential Indicator for Life on Mars

Priorities for the exploration of Mars involve the identification and observation of biosignatures that indicate the existence of life on the planet. The atmosphere and composition of the sediments on Mars suggest suitability for anaerobic chemolithotrophic metabolism. Carbonates are often considered as morphological biosignatures, such as stromatolites, but have not been considered as potential electron acceptors. Within the present study, hydrogenotrophic methanogen enrichments were generated from sediments that had received significant quantities of lime from industrial processes (lime kiln/steel production). These enrichments were then supplemented with calcium carbonate powder or marble chips as a sole source of carbon. These microcosms saw a release of inorganic carbon into the liquid phase, which was subsequently removed, resulting in the generation of methane, with 0.37 ± 0.09 mmoles of methane observed in the steel sediment enrichments supplemented with calcium carbonate powder. The steel sediment microcosms and lime sediments with carbonate powder enrichments were dominated by Methanobacterium sp., whilst the lime/marble enrichments were more diverse, containing varying proportions of Methanomassiliicoccus, Methanoculleus and Methanosarcina sp. In all microcosm experiments, acetic acid was detected in the liquid phase. Our results indicate that chemolithotrophic methanogenesis should be considered when determining biosignatures for life on Mars.

Depleted carbon isotope compositions observed at Gale crater, Mars

Carbon isotopic analysis is among the most pervasive geochemical approaches because the fractionation of carbon isotopes produces a natural tracer of biological and chemical processes. Rover-based carbon isotopic analyses of sedimentary rocks on Mars have the potential to reveal modes of Martian carbon cycling. We report carbon isotopic values of the methane released during pyrolysis of samples obtained at Gale crater. The values show remarkable variation indicating different origins for the carbon evolved from different samples. Samples from multiple locations within Gale crater evolved methane with highly fractionated carbon isotopes. We suggest three routes by which highly fractionated carbon could be deposited on Mars, with each suggesting that Martian carbon cycling is quite distinct from that of the present Earth.

Obtaining carbon isotopic information for organic carbon from Martian sediments has long been a goal of planetary science, as it has the potential to elucidate the origin of such carbon and aspects of Martian carbon cycling. Carbon isotopic values (δ¹³C_VPDB) of the methane released during pyrolysis of 24 powder samples at Gale crater, Mars, show a high degree of variation (−137 ± 8‰ to +22 ± 10‰) when measured by the tunable laser spectrometer portion of the Sample Analysis at Mars instrument suite during evolved gas analysis. Included in these data are 10 measured δ¹³C values less than −70‰ found for six different sampling locations, all potentially associated with a possible paleosurface. There are multiple plausible explanations for the anomalously depleted ¹³C observed in evolved methane, but no single explanation can be accepted without further research. Three possible explanations are the photolysis of biological methane released from the subsurface, photoreduction of atmospheric CO₂, and deposition of cosmic dust during passage through a galactic molecular cloud. All three of these scenarios are unconventional, unlike processes common on Earth.

Carbon Ion Fluxes at Mars: First Results of Tailward Flows From MAVEN-STATIC

Characterizing C⁺ ions in the Martian ionosphere is important for understanding the history of the Martian atmosphere and surface due to its place in understanding carbon escape. Measuring minor ions, like C⁺, which are close in mass to major atmospheric ions, in this case O⁺, is difficult, requiring fitting algorithms and accurate background subtraction. Accurate measurement of these species is essential for understanding chemistry and transport in the ionosphere. In this paper, we use data from the Mars Atmospheric and Volatile EvolutioN SupraThermal And Thermal Ion Composition (MAVEN-STATIC) sensor to report the first C⁺ fluxes measured in the Martian magnetotail. We will describe a multistep method of background subtraction as well as fitting routines that are used to extract C⁺ fluxes from a 40-orbit subset of STATIC data. Our results show tailward fluxes in both optical shadow and the adjacent sunlit magnetotail at high altitudes ( > 3,000 km) and Mars-ward at low altitudes ( < 2,000 km) in shadow. These local flux values are similar to estimates of neutral carbon fluxes from photochemical escape. However, total carbon loss comparisons will require a more comprehensive study of integrated C⁺ loss over a larger data set from the Martian magnetotail.

Tracing Carbonate Formation, Serpentinization, and Biological Materials With Micro-/Meso-Scale Infrared Imaging Spectroscopy in a Mars Analog System, Samail Ophiolite, Oman

Visible-shortwave infrared (VSWIR) imaging spectrometers map composition remotely with spatial context, typically at many meters-scale from orbital and airborne data. Here, we evaluate VSWIR imaging spectroscopy capabilities at centimeters to sub-millimeter scale at the Samail Ophiolite, Oman, where mafic and ultramafic lithologies and their alteration products, including serpentine and carbonates, are exposed in a semi-arid environment, analogous to similar mineral associations observed from Mars orbit that will be explored by the Mars-2020 rover. At outcrop and hand specimen scales, VSWIR spectroscopy (a) identifies cross-cutting veins of calcite, dolomite, magnesite, serpentine, and chlorite that record pathways and time-order of multiple alteration events of changing fluid composition; (b) detects small-scale, partially altered remnant pyroxenes and localized epidote and prehnite that indicate protolith composition and temperatures and pressures of multiple generations of faulting and alteration, respectively; and (c) discriminates between spectrally similar carbonate and serpentine phases and carbonate solid solutions. In natural magnesite veins, minor amounts of ferrous iron can appear similar to olivine's strong 1-μm absorption, though no olivine is present. We also find that mineral identification for carbonate and serpentine in mixtures with each other is strongly scale- and texture-dependent; ∼40 area% dolomite in mm-scale veins at one serpentinite outcrop and ∼18 area% serpentine in a calcite-rich travertine outcrop are not discriminated until spatial scales of <∼1-2 cm/pixel. We found biological materials, for example bacterial mats versus vascular plants, are differentiated using wavelengths <1 μm while shortwave infrared wavelengths >1 μm are required to identify most organic materials and distinguish most mineral phases.

Nitrogen Fixation at Early Mars

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) recently discovered nitrates in Gale Crater (e.g., Stern et al., 2015; Sutter et al., 2017). One possible mechanism for ancient nitrate deposition on Mars is through HNOx formation and rain out in the atmosphere, for which lightning-induced NO is likely the fundamental source. This study investigates nitrogen (N₂) fixation in early Mars' atmosphere, with implications for early Mars' habitability. We consider a 1 bar atmosphere of background CO₂, with abundance of N₂, hydrogen, and methane varied from 1% to 10% to explore a swath of potential early Mars climates. We derive lightning-induced thermochemical equilibrium fluxes of NO and HCN by coupling the lightning-rate parametrization from the study of Romps et al. (2014) with chemical equilibrium with applications, and we use a Geant4 simulation platform to estimate the effect of solar energetic particle events. These fluxes are used as input into KINETICS, the Caltech/JPL coupled photochemistry and transport code, which models the chemistry of 50 species linked by 495 reactions to derive rain-out fluxes of HNOx and HCN. We compute equilibrium concentrations of cyanide and nitrate in a putative northern ocean at early Mars, assuming hydrothermal vent circulation and photoreduction act as the dominant loss mechanisms. We find average oceanic concentrations of ∼0.1-2 nM nitrate and ∼0.01-2 mM cyanide. HCN is critical for protein synthesis at concentrations >0.01 M (e.g., Holm and Neubeck, 2009), and our result is astrobiologically significant if secondary local concentration mechanisms occurred. Nitrates may act as high-potential electron acceptors for early metabolisms, although the minimum concentration required is unknown. Our study derives concentrations that will be useful for future laboratory studies to investigate the habitability at early Mars. The aqueous nitrate concentrations correspond to surface nitrate precipitates of ∼1-8 × 10^-4 wt % that may have formed after the evaporation of surface waters, and these values roughly agree with recent MSL measurements.

Formation of Magnesium Carbonates on Earth and Implications for Mars

Magnesium carbonates have been identified within the landing site of the Perseverance rover mission. This study reviews terrestrial analog environments and textural, mineral assemblage, isotopic, and elemental analyses that have been applied to establish formation conditions of magnesium carbonates. Magnesium carbonates form in five distinct settings: ultramafic rock-hosted veins, the matrix of carbonated peridotite, nodules in soil, alkaline lake, and playa deposits, and as diagenetic replacements within lime-and dolostones. Dominant textures include fine-grained or microcrystalline veins, nodules, and crusts. Microbial influences on formation are recorded in thrombolites, stromatolites, crinkly, and pustular laminites, spheroids, and filamentous microstructures. Mineral assemblages, fluid inclusions, and carbon, oxygen, magnesium, and clumped isotopes of carbon and oxygen have been used to determine the sources of carbon, magnesium, and fluid for magnesium carbonates as well as their temperatures of formation. Isotopic signatures in ultramafic rock-hosted magnesium carbonates reveal that they form by either low-temperature meteoric water infiltration and alteration, hydrothermal alteration, or metamorphic processes. Isotopic compositions of lacustrine magnesium carbonate record precipitation from lake water, evaporation processes, and ambient formation temperatures. Assessment of these features with similar analytical techniques applied to returned Martian samples can establish whether carbonates on ancient Mars were formed at high or low temperature conditions in the surface or subsurface through abiotic or biotic processes. The timing of carbonate formation processes could be constrained by 147Sm-143Nd isochron, U-Pb concordia, 207Pb-206Pb isochron radiometric dating as well as 3He, 21Ne, 22Ne, or 36Ar surface exposure dating of returned Martian magnesium carbonate samples.

Long-term drying of Mars by sequestration of ocean-scale volumes of water in the crust

Geological evidence shows that ancient Mars had large volumes of liquid water. Models of past hydrogen escape to space, calibrated with observations of the current escape rate, cannot explain the present-day deuterium-to-hydrogen isotope ratio (D/H). We simulated volcanic degassing, atmospheric escape, and crustal hydration on Mars, incorporating observational constraints from spacecraft, rovers, and meteorites. We found that ancient water volumes equivalent to a 100 to 1500 meter global layer are simultaneously compatible with the geological evidence, loss rate estimates, and D/H measurements. In our model, the volume of water participating in the hydrological cycle decreased by 40 to 95% over the Noachian period (~3.7 billion to 4.1 billion years ago), reaching present-day values by ~3.0 billion years ago. Between 30 and 99% of martian water was sequestered through crustal hydration, demonstrating that irreversible chemical weathering can increase the aridity of terrestrial planets.

Six 'Must-Have' Minerals for Life's Emergence: Olivine, Pyrrhotite, Bridgmanite, Serpentine, Fougerite and Mackinawite

Life cannot emerge on a planet or moon without the appropriate electrochemical disequilibria and the minerals that mediate energy-dissipative processes. Here, it is argued that four minerals, olivine ([Mg>Fe]2SiO4), bridgmanite ([Mg,Fe]SiO3), serpentine ([Mg,Fe,]2-3Si2O5[OH)]4), and pyrrhotite (Fe(1-x)S), are an essential requirement in planetary bodies to produce such disequilibria and, thereby, life. Yet only two minerals, fougerite ([Fe2+6xFe3+6(x-1)O12H2(7-3x)]2+·[(CO2-)·3H2O]2-) and mackinawite (Fe[Ni]S), are vital-comprising precipitate membranes-as initial "free energy" conductors and converters of such disequilibria, i.e., as the initiators of a CO2-reducing metabolism. The fact that wet and rocky bodies in the solar system much smaller than Earth or Venus do not reach the internal pressure (≥23 GPa) requirements in their mantles sufficient for producing bridgmanite and, therefore, are too reduced to stabilize and emit CO2-the staple of life-may explain the apparent absence or negligible concentrations of that gas on these bodies, and thereby serves as a constraint in the search for extraterrestrial life. The astrobiological challenge then is to search for worlds that (i) are large enough to generate internal pressures such as to produce bridgmanite or (ii) boast electron acceptors, including imported CO2, from extraterrestrial sources in their hydrospheres.

Semiarid climate and hyposaline lake on early Mars inferred from reconstructed water chemistry at Gale

Salinity, pH, and redox states are fundamental properties that characterize natural waters. These properties of surface waters on early Mars reflect palaeoenvironments, and thus provide clues on the palaeoclimate and habitability. Here we constrain these properties of pore water within lacustrine sediments of Gale Crater, Mars, using smectite interlayer compositions. Regardless of formation conditions of smectite, the pore water that last interacted with the sediments was of Na-Cl type with mild salinity (~0.1-0.5 mol/kg) and circumneutral pH. To interpret this, multiple scenarios for post-depositional alterations are considered. The estimated Na-Cl concentrations would reflect hyposaline, early lakes developed in 104-106-year-long semiarid climates. Assuming that post-depositional sulfate-rich fluids interacted with the sediments, the redox disequilibria in secondary minerals suggest infiltration of oxidizing fluids into reducing sediments. Assuming no interactions, the redox disequilibria could have been generated by interactions of upwelling groundwater with oxidized sediments in early post-depositional stages.

Paleo-Rock-Hosted Life on Earth and the Search on Mars: A Review and Strategy for Exploration

Here we review published studies on the abundance and diversity of terrestrial rock-hosted life, the environments it inhabits, the evolution of its metabolisms, and its fossil biomarkers to provide guidance in the search for life on Mars. Key findings are (1) much terrestrial deep subsurface metabolic activity relies on abiotic energy-yielding fluxes and in situ abiotic and biotic recycling of metabolic waste products rather than on buried organic products of photosynthesis; (2) subsurface microbial cell concentrations are highest at interfaces with pronounced chemical redox gradients or permeability variations and do not correlate with bulk host rock organic carbon; (3) metabolic pathways for chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms evolved earlier in Earth's history than those of surface-dwelling phototrophic microorganisms; (4) the emergence of the former occurred at a time when Mars was habitable, whereas the emergence of the latter occurred at a time when the martian surface was not continually habitable; (5) the terrestrial rock record has biomarkers of subsurface life at least back hundreds of millions of years and likely to 3.45 Ga with several examples of excellent preservation in rock types that are quite different from those preserving the photosphere-supported biosphere. These findings suggest that rock-hosted life would have been more likely to emerge and be preserved in a martian context. Consequently, we outline a Mars exploration strategy that targets subsurface life and scales spatially, focusing initially on identifying rocks with evidence for groundwater flow and low-temperature mineralization, then identifying redox and permeability interfaces preserved within rock outcrops, and finally focusing on finding minerals associated with redox reactions and associated traces of carbon and diagnostic chemical and isotopic biosignatures. Using this strategy on Earth yields ancient rock-hosted life, preserved in the fossil record and confirmable via a suite of morphologic, organic, mineralogical, and isotopic fingerprints at micrometer scale. We expect an emphasis on rock-hosted life and this scale-dependent strategy to be crucial in the search for life on Mars.

Fe-oxide concretions formed by interacting carbonate and acidic waters on Earth and Mars

Spherical Fe-oxide concretions on Earth, especially in Utah, USA, have been investigated as an analog of hematite spherules found in Meridiani Planum on Mars to support interpretations of water-rock interactions in early Mars. Although several formation mechanisms have been proposed for the Fe-oxide concretions on Earth, it is still unclear whether these mechanisms are viable because a precise formation process and precursor of the concretions are missing. This paper presents evidence that Fe-oxide concretions in Utah and newly found Fe-oxide concretions in Mongolia had spherical calcite concretions as precursors. Different formation stages of calcite and Fe-oxide concretions observed, both in Utah and Mongolia, indicate that calcite concretions initially formed within eolian sandstone strata and were dissolved by infiltrating Fe-rich acidic waters to form spherical FeO(OH) crusts due to pH buffering. The similarity between these Fe-oxide concretions on Earth and the hematite spherule occurrences in Meridiani Planum, combined with evidence of acid sulfate water influences on Mars, suggest that the hematite spherules also formed from dissolution of preexisting carbonate spherules possibly formed under a dense carbon dioxide early martian atmosphere.

Methane on Mars and Habitability: Challenges and Responses

Recent measurements of methane (CH4) by the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) now confront us with robust data that demand interpretation. Thus far, the MSL data have revealed a baseline level of CH4 (∼0.4 parts per billion by volume [ppbv]), with seasonal variations, as well as greatly enhanced spikes of CH4 with peak abundances of ∼7 ppbv. What do these CH4 revelations with drastically different abundances and temporal signatures represent in terms of interior geochemical processes, or is martian CH4 a biosignature? Discerning how CH4 generation occurs on Mars may shed light on the potential habitability of Mars. There is no evidence of life on the surface of Mars today, but microbes might reside beneath the surface. In this case, the carbon flux represented by CH4 would serve as a link between a putative subterranean biosphere on Mars and what we can measure above the surface. Alternatively, CH4 records modern geochemical activity. Here we ask the fundamental question: how active is Mars, geochemically and/or biologically? In this article, we examine geological, geochemical, and biogeochemical processes related to our overarching question. The martian atmosphere and surface are an overwhelmingly oxidizing environment, and life requires pairing of electron donors and electron acceptors, that is, redox gradients, as an essential source of energy. Therefore, a fundamental and critical question regarding the possibility of life on Mars is, "Where can we find redox gradients as energy sources for life on Mars?" Hence, regardless of the pathway that generates CH4 on Mars, the presence of CH4, a reduced species in an oxidant-rich environment, suggests the possibility of redox gradients supporting life and habitability on Mars. Recent missions such as ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter may provide mapping of the global distribution of CH4. To discriminate between abiotic and biotic sources of CH4 on Mars, future studies should use a series of diagnostic geochemical analyses, preferably performed below the ground or at the ground/atmosphere interface, including measurements of CH4 isotopes, methane/ethane ratios, H2 gas concentration, and species such as acetic acid. Advances in the fields of Mars exploration and instrumentation will be driven, augmented, and supported by an improved understanding of atmospheric chemistry and dynamics, deep subsurface biogeochemistry, astrobiology, planetary geology, and geophysics. Future Mars exploration programs will have to expand the integration of complementary areas of expertise to generate synergistic and innovative ideas to realize breakthroughs in advancing our understanding of the potential of life and habitable conditions having existed on Mars. In this spirit, we conducted a set of interdisciplinary workshops. From this series has emerged a vision of technological, theoretical, and methodological innovations to explore the martian subsurface and to enhance spatial tracking of key volatiles, such as CH4.

A More Comprehensive Habitable Zone for Finding Life on Other Planets

The habitable zone (HZ) is the circular region around a star(s) where standing bodies of water could exist on the surface of a rocky planet. Space missions employ the HZ to select promising targets for follow-up habitability assessment. The classical HZ definition assumes that the most important greenhouse gases for habitable planets orbiting main-sequence stars are CO2 and H2O. Although the classical HZ is an effective navigational tool, recent HZ formulations demonstrate that it cannot thoroughly capture the diversity of habitable exoplanets. Here, I review the planetary and stellar processes considered in both classical and newer HZ formulations. Supplementing the classical HZ with additional considerations from these newer formulations improves our capability to filter out worlds that are unlikely to host life. Such improved HZ tools will be necessary for current and upcoming missions aiming to detect and characterize potentially habitable exoplanets.

The Coevolution of Life and Environment on Mars: An Ecosystem Perspective on the Robotic Exploration of Biosignatures

Earth's biological and environmental evolution are intertwined and inseparable. This coevolution has become a fundamental concept in astrobiology and is key to the search for life beyond our planet. In the case of Mars, whether a coevolution took place is unknown, but analyzing the factors at play shows the uniqueness of each planetary experiment regardless of similarities. Early Earth and early Mars shared traits. However, biological processes on Mars, if any, would have had to proceed within the distinctive context of an irreversible atmospheric collapse, greater climate variability, and specific planetary characteristics. In that, Mars is an important test bed for comparing the effects of a unique set of spatiotemporal changes on an Earth-like, yet different, planet. Many questions remain unanswered about Mars' early environment. Nevertheless, existing data sets provide a foundation for an intellectual framework where notional coevolution models can be explored. In this framework, the focus is shifted from planetary-scale habitability to the prospect of habitats, microbial ecotones, pathways to biological dispersal, biomass repositories, and their meaning for exploration. Critically, as we search for biosignatures, this focus demonstrates the importance of starting to think of early Mars as a biosphere and vigorously integrating an ecosystem approach to landing site selection and exploration. Key Words: Astrobiology-Biosignatures-Coevolution of Earth and life-Mars. Astrobiology 18, 1-27.

Mars' atmospheric history derived from upper-atmosphere measurements of 38Ar/36Ar

The history of Mars' atmosphere is important for understanding the geological evolution and potential habitability of the planet. We determine the amount of gas lost to space through time using measurements of the upper-atmospheric structure made by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft. We derive the structure of ³⁸Ar/³⁶Ar between the homopause and exobase altitudes. Fractionation of argon occurs as a result of loss of gas to space by pickup-ion sputtering, which preferentially removes the lighter atom. The measurements require that 66% of the atmospheric argon has been lost to space. Thus, a large fraction of Mars' atmospheric gas has been lost to space, contributing to the transition in climate from an early, warm, wet environment to today's cold, dry atmosphere.

Methane: Fuel or Exhaust at the Emergence of Life?

As many of the methanogens first encountered at hydrothermal vents were thermophilic to hyperthermophilic and comprised one of the lower roots of the evolutionary tree, it has been assumed that methanogenesis was one of the earliest, if not the earliest, pathway to life. It being well known that hydrothermal springs associated with serpentinization also bore abiotic methane, it had been further assumed that emergent biochemistry merely adopted and quickened this supposed serpentinization reaction. Yet, recent hydrothermal experiments simulating serpentinization have failed to generate methane so far, thus casting doubt on this assumption. The idea that the inverse view is worthy of debate, that is, that methanotrophy was the earlier, is stymied by the "fact" that methanotrophy itself has been termed "reverse methanogenesis," so allotting the methanogens the founding pedigree. Thus, attempting to suggest instead that methanogenesis might be termed reverse methanotrophy would require "unlearning"-a challenge to the subconscious! Here we re-examine the "impossibility" of methanotrophy predating methanogenesis as in what we have termed the "denitrifying methanotrophic acetogenic pathway." Advantages offered by such thinking are that methane would not only be a fuel but also a ready source of reduced carbon to combine with formate or carbon monoxide-available in hydrothermal fluids-to generate acetate, a target molecule of the first autotrophs. And the nitrate/nitrite required for the putative oxidation of methane with activated NO would also be a ready source of fixed nitrogen for amination reactions. Theoretical conditions for such a putative pathway would be met in a hydrothermal green rust-bearing exhalative pile and associated chimneys subject to proton and electron counter gradients. This hypothesis could be put to test in a high-pressure hydrothermal reaction chamber in which a cool carbonate/nitrate/nitrite-bearing early acidulous ocean simulant is juxtaposed across a precipitate membrane to an alkaline solution of hydrogen and methane. Key Words: Green rust-Methanotrophy-Nitrate reduction-Emergence of life. Astrobiology 17, 1053-1066.

Low Hesperian PCO2 constrained from in situ mineralogical analysis at Gale Crater, Mars

Carbon dioxide is an essential atmospheric component in martian climate models that attempt to reconcile a faint young sun with planetwide evidence of liquid water in the Noachian and Early Hesperian. In this study, we use mineral and contextual sedimentary environmental data measured by the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Rover Curiosity to estimate the atmospheric partial pressure of CO₂ (P_CO2) coinciding with a long-lived lake system in Gale Crater at ∼3.5 Ga. A reaction-transport model that simulates mineralogy observed within the Sheepbed member at Yellowknife Bay (YKB), by coupling mineral equilibria with carbonate precipitation kinetics and rates of sedimentation, indicates atmospheric P_CO2 levels in the 10s mbar range. At such low P_CO2 levels, existing climate models are unable to warm Hesperian Mars anywhere near the freezing point of water, and other gases are required to raise atmospheric pressure to prevent lake waters from being lost to the atmosphere. Thus, either lacustrine features of Gale formed in a cold environment by a mechanism yet to be determined, or the climate models still lack an essential component that would serve to elevate surface temperatures, at least locally, on Hesperian Mars. Our results also impose restrictions on the potential role of atmospheric CO₂ in inferred warmer conditions and valley network formation of the late Noachian.

Hypotheses for Near-Surface Exchange of Methane on Mars

The Curiosity rover recently detected a background of 0.7 ppb and spikes of 7 ppb of methane on Mars. This in situ measurement reorients our understanding of the martian environment and its potential for life, as the current theories do not entail any geological source or sink of methane that varies sub-annually. In particular, the 10-fold elevation during the southern winter indicates episodic sources of methane that are yet to be discovered. Here we suggest a near-surface reservoir could explain this variability. Using the temperature and humidity measurements from the rover, we find that perchlorate salts in the regolith deliquesce to form liquid solutions, and deliquescence progresses to deeper subsurface in the season of the methane spikes. We therefore formulate the following three testable hypotheses. The first scenario is that the regolith in Gale Crater adsorbs methane when dry and releases this methane to the atmosphere upon deliquescence. The adsorption energy needs to be 36 kJ mol(-1) to explain the magnitude of the methane spikes, higher than existing laboratory measurements. The second scenario is that microorganisms convert organic matter in the soil to methane when they are in liquid solutions. This scenario does not require regolith adsorption but entails extant life on Mars. The third scenario is that deep subsurface aquifers produce the bursts of methane. Continued in situ measurements of methane and water, as well as laboratory studies of adsorption and deliquescence, will test these hypotheses and inform the existence of the near-surface reservoir and its exchange with the atmosphere.

KEY WORDS

Mars-Methane-Astrobiology-Regolith. Astrobiology 16, 539-550.