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Steele SC, Fu RR, Volk MW, North TL, Brenner AR, Muxworthy AR, Collins GS, Davison TM. Paleomagnetic evidence for a long-lived, potentially reversing martian dynamo at ~3.9 Ga. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eade9071. [PMID: 37224261 PMCID: PMC10957104 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade9071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
The 4.1-billion-year-old meteorite Allan Hills 84001 (ALH 84001) may preserve a magnetic record of the extinct martian dynamo. However, previous paleomagnetic studies have reported heterogeneous, nonunidirectional magnetization in the meteorite at submillimeter scales, calling into question whether it records a dynamo field. We use the quantum diamond microscope to analyze igneous Fe-sulfides in ALH 84001 that may carry remanence as old as 4.1 billion years (Ga). We find that individual, 100-μm-scale ferromagnetic mineral assemblages are strongly magnetized in two nearly antipodal directions. This suggests that the meteorite recorded strong fields following impact heating at 4.1 to 3.95 Ga, after which at least one further impact heterogeneously remagnetized the meteorite in a nearly antipodal local field. These observations are most simply explained by a reversing martian dynamo that was active until 3.9 Ga, thereby implying a late cessation for the martian dynamo and potentially documenting reversing behavior in a nonterrestrial planetary dynamo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah C. Steele
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Roger R. Fu
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Michael W. R. Volk
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3584 CS, Netherlands
| | - Thomas L. North
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Alec R. Brenner
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Adrian R. Muxworthy
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Gareth S. Collins
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Thomas M. Davison
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
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2
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Runge EA, Mansor M, Kappler A, Duda JP. Microbial biosignatures in ancient deep-sea hydrothermal sulfides. GEOBIOLOGY 2023; 21:355-377. [PMID: 36524457 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2022] [Revised: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Deep-sea hydrothermal systems provide ideal conditions for prebiotic reactions and ancient metabolic pathways and, therefore, might have played a pivotal role in the emergence of life. To understand this role better, it is paramount to examine fundamental interactions between hydrothermal processes, non-living matter, and microbial life in deep time. However, the distribution and diversity of microbial communities in ancient deep-sea hydrothermal systems are still poorly constrained, so evolutionary, and ecological relationships remain unclear. One important reason is an insufficient understanding of the formation of diagnostic microbial biosignatures in such settings and their preservation through geological time. This contribution centers around microbial biosignatures in Precambrian deep-sea hydrothermal sulfide deposits. Intending to provide a valuable resource for scientists from across the natural sciences whose research is concerned with the origins of life, we first introduce different types of biosignatures that can be preserved over geological timescales (rock fabrics and textures, microfossils, mineral precipitates, carbonaceous matter, trace metal, and isotope geochemical signatures). We then review selected reports of biosignatures from Precambrian deep-sea hydrothermal sulfide deposits and discuss their geobiological significance. Our survey highlights that Precambrian hydrothermal sulfide deposits potentially encode valuable information on environmental conditions, the presence and nature of microbial life, and the complex interactions between fluids, micro-organisms, and minerals. It further emphasizes that the geobiological interpretation of these records is challenging and requires the concerted application of analytical and experimental methods from various fields, including geology, mineralogy, geochemistry, and microbiology. Well-orchestrated multidisciplinary studies allow us to understand the formation and preservation of microbial biosignatures in deep-sea hydrothermal sulfide systems and thus help unravel the fundamental geobiology of ancient settings. This, in turn, is critical for reconstructing life's emergence and early evolution on Earth and the search for life elsewhere in the universe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Alexander Runge
- Sedimentology and Organic Geochemistry, Department of Geosciences, Tübingen University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Muammar Mansor
- Geomicrobiology, Department of Geosciences, Tübingen University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas Kappler
- Geomicrobiology, Department of Geosciences, Tübingen University, Tübingen, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence EXC 2124, Controlling Microbes to Fight Infection, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jan-Peter Duda
- Sedimentology and Organic Geochemistry, Department of Geosciences, Tübingen University, Tübingen, Germany
- Geobiology, Geoscience Center, Göttingen University, Göttingen, Germany
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Steele A, Benning LG, Wirth R, Schreiber A, Araki T, McCubbin FM, Fries MD, Nittler LR, Wang J, Hallis LJ, Conrad PG, Conley C, Vitale S, O'Brien AC, Riggi V, Rogers K. Organic synthesis associated with serpentinization and carbonation on early Mars. Science 2022; 375:172-177. [PMID: 35025630 DOI: 10.1126/science.abg7905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Water-rock interactions are relevant to planetary habitability, influencing mineralogical diversity and the production of organic molecules. We examine carbonates and silicates in the martian meteorite Allan Hills 84001 (ALH 84001), using colocated nanoscale analyses, to characterize the nature of water-rock reactions on early Mars. We find complex refractory organic material associated with mineral assemblages that formed by mineral carbonation and serpentinization reactions. The organic molecules are colocated with nanophase magnetite; both formed in situ during water-rock interactions on Mars. Two potentially distinct mechanisms of abiotic organic synthesis operated on early Mars during the late Noachian period (3.9 to 4.1 billion years ago).
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Affiliation(s)
- A Steele
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Earth and Planets Laboratory, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - L G Benning
- Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany.,Department of Earth Sciences, Free University of Berlin, 12249 Berlin, Germany
| | - R Wirth
- Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
| | - A Schreiber
- Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum, Telegrafenberg, 14473 Potsdam, Germany
| | - T Araki
- Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot OX11 0DE, UK
| | - F M McCubbin
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - M D Fries
- NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, USA
| | - L R Nittler
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Earth and Planets Laboratory, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - J Wang
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Earth and Planets Laboratory, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - L J Hallis
- School of Geographical and Earth Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - P G Conrad
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Earth and Planets Laboratory, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - C Conley
- NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA 94035, USA
| | - S Vitale
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Earth and Planets Laboratory, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - A C O'Brien
- School of Geographical and Earth Science, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - V Riggi
- Carnegie Institution for Science, Earth and Planets Laboratory, Washington, DC 20015, USA
| | - K Rogers
- Earth and Environmental Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA
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Treiman AH. Uninhabitable and Potentially Habitable Environments on Mars: Evidence from Meteorite ALH 84001. ASTROBIOLOGY 2021; 21:940-953. [PMID: 33857382 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The martian meteorite ALH 84001 formed before ∼4.0 Ga, so it could have preserved information about habitability on early Mars and habitability since then. ALH 84001 is particularly important as it contains carbonate (and other) minerals that were deposited by liquid water, raising the chance that they may have formed in a habitable environment. Despite vigorous efforts from the scientific community, there is no accepted evidence that ALH 84001 contains traces or markers of ancient martian life-all the purported signs have been shown to be incorrect or ambiguous. However, the meteorite provides evidence for three distinct episodes of potentially habitable environments on early Mars. First is evidence that the meteorite's precursors interacted with clay-rich material, formed approximately at 4.2 Ga. Second is that igneous olivine crystals in ALH 84001 were partially dissolved and removed, presumably by liquid water. Third is, of course, the deposition of the carbonate globules, which occurred at ∼15-25°C and involved near-neutral to alkaline waters. The environments of olivine dissolution and carbonate deposition are not known precisely; hydrothermal and soil environments are current possibilities. By analogies with similar alteration minerals and sequences in the nakhlite martian meteorites and volcanic rocks from Spitzbergen (Norway), a hydrothermal environment is favored. As with the nakhlite alterations, those in ALH 84001 likely formed in a hydrothermal system related to a meteoroid impact event. Following deposition of the carbonates (at 3.95 Ga), ALH 84001 preserves no evidence of habitable environments, that is, interaction with water. The meteorite contains several materials (formed by impact shock at ∼3.9 Ga) that should have reacted readily with water to form hydrous silicates, but there is no evidence any formed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allan H Treiman
- Lunar and Planetary Institute / Universities Space Research Association, Houston, Texas, USA
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5
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Amor M, Mathon FP, Monteil CL, Busigny V, Lefevre CT. Iron-biomineralizing organelle in magnetotactic bacteria: function, synthesis and preservation in ancient rock samples. Environ Microbiol 2020; 22:3611-3632. [PMID: 32452098 DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.15098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Revised: 05/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are ubiquitous aquatic microorganisms that incorporate iron from their environment to synthesize intracellular nanoparticles of magnetite (Fe3 O4 ) or greigite (Fe3 S4 ) in a genetically controlled manner. Magnetite and greigite magnetic phases allow MTB to swim towards redox transition zones where they thrive. MTB may represent some of the oldest microorganisms capable of synthesizing minerals on Earth and have been proposed to significantly impact the iron biogeochemical cycle by immobilizing soluble iron into crystals that subsequently fossilize in sedimentary rocks. In the present article, we describe the distribution of MTB in the environment and discuss the possible function of the magnetite and greigite nanoparticles. We then provide an overview of the chemical mechanisms leading to iron mineralization in MTB. Finally, we update the methods used for the detection of MTB crystals in sedimentary rocks and present their occurrences in the geological record.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthieu Amor
- Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, CEA, UMR7265 Institute of Biosciences and Biotechnologies of Aix-Marseille, CEA Cadarache, Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, F-13108, France
| | - François P Mathon
- Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, CEA, UMR7265 Institute of Biosciences and Biotechnologies of Aix-Marseille, CEA Cadarache, Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, F-13108, France.,Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Université de Paris, CNRS, Paris, F-75005, France
| | - Caroline L Monteil
- Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, CEA, UMR7265 Institute of Biosciences and Biotechnologies of Aix-Marseille, CEA Cadarache, Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, F-13108, France
| | - Vincent Busigny
- Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Université de Paris, CNRS, Paris, F-75005, France.,Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Christopher T Lefevre
- Aix-Marseille University, CNRS, CEA, UMR7265 Institute of Biosciences and Biotechnologies of Aix-Marseille, CEA Cadarache, Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, F-13108, France
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Domagal-Goldman SD, Wright KE, Adamala K, Arina de la Rubia L, Bond J, Dartnell LR, Goldman AD, Lynch K, Naud ME, Paulino-Lima IG, Singer K, Walther-Antonio M, Abrevaya XC, Anderson R, Arney G, Atri D, Azúa-Bustos A, Bowman JS, Brazelton WJ, Brennecka GA, Carns R, Chopra A, Colangelo-Lillis J, Crockett CJ, DeMarines J, Frank EA, Frantz C, de la Fuente E, Galante D, Glass J, Gleeson D, Glein CR, Goldblatt C, Horak R, Horodyskyj L, Kaçar B, Kereszturi A, Knowles E, Mayeur P, McGlynn S, Miguel Y, Montgomery M, Neish C, Noack L, Rugheimer S, Stüeken EE, Tamez-Hidalgo P, Imari Walker S, Wong T. The Astrobiology Primer v2.0. ASTROBIOLOGY 2016; 16:561-653. [PMID: 27532777 PMCID: PMC5008114 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2015.1460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2015] [Accepted: 06/06/2016] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Shawn D Domagal-Goldman
- 1 NASA Goddard Space Flight Center , Greenbelt, Maryland, USA
- 2 Virtual Planetary Laboratory , Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Katherine E Wright
- 3 University of Colorado at Boulder , Colorado, USA
- 4 Present address: UK Space Agency, UK
| | - Katarzyna Adamala
- 5 Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, University of Minnesota , Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
| | | | - Jade Bond
- 7 Department of Physics, University of New South Wales , Sydney, Australia
| | | | | | - Kennda Lynch
- 10 Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana , Missoula, Montana, USA
| | - Marie-Eve Naud
- 11 Institute for research on exoplanets (iREx) , Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
| | - Ivan G Paulino-Lima
- 12 Universities Space Research Association , Mountain View, California, USA
- 13 Blue Marble Space Institute of Science , Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Kelsi Singer
- 14 Southwest Research Institute , Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | | | - Ximena C Abrevaya
- 16 Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio (IAFE) , UBA-CONICET, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Rika Anderson
- 17 Department of Biology, Carleton College , Northfield, Minnesota, USA
| | - Giada Arney
- 18 University of Washington Astronomy Department and Astrobiology Program , Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Dimitra Atri
- 13 Blue Marble Space Institute of Science , Seattle, Washington, USA
| | | | - Jeff S Bowman
- 19 Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University , Palisades, New York, USA
| | | | | | - Regina Carns
- 22 Polar Science Center, Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington, USA
| | - Aditya Chopra
- 23 Planetary Science Institute, Research School of Earth Sciences, Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Australian National University , Canberra, Australia
| | - Jesse Colangelo-Lillis
- 24 Earth and Planetary Science, McGill University , and the McGill Space Institute, Montréal, Canada
| | | | - Julia DeMarines
- 13 Blue Marble Space Institute of Science , Seattle, Washington, USA
| | | | - Carie Frantz
- 27 Department of Geosciences, Weber State University , Ogden, Utah, USA
| | - Eduardo de la Fuente
- 28 IAM-Departamento de Fisica, CUCEI , Universidad de Guadalajara, Guadalajara, México
| | - Douglas Galante
- 29 Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory , Campinas, Brazil
| | - Jennifer Glass
- 30 School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology , Atlanta, Georgia , USA
| | | | | | - Colin Goldblatt
- 33 School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria , Victoria, Canada
| | - Rachel Horak
- 34 American Society for Microbiology , Washington, DC, USA
| | | | - Betül Kaçar
- 36 Harvard University , Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Akos Kereszturi
- 37 Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences , Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Emily Knowles
- 38 Johnson & Wales University , Denver, Colorado, USA
| | - Paul Mayeur
- 39 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute , Troy, New York, USA
| | - Shawn McGlynn
- 40 Earth Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology , Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yamila Miguel
- 41 Laboratoire Lagrange, UMR 7293, Université Nice Sophia Antipolis , CNRS, Observatoire de la Côte d'Azur, Nice, France
| | | | - Catherine Neish
- 43 Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Western Ontario , London, Canada
| | - Lena Noack
- 44 Royal Observatory of Belgium , Brussels, Belgium
| | - Sarah Rugheimer
- 45 Department of Astronomy, Harvard University , Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- 46 University of St. Andrews , St. Andrews, UK
| | - Eva E Stüeken
- 47 University of Washington , Seattle, Washington, USA
- 48 University of California , Riverside, California, USA
| | | | - Sara Imari Walker
- 13 Blue Marble Space Institute of Science , Seattle, Washington, USA
- 50 School of Earth and Space Exploration and Beyond Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science, Arizona State University , Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Teresa Wong
- 51 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis , St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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Tomescu AMF, Klymiuk AA, Matsunaga KKS, Bippus AC, Shelton GWK. Microbes and the Fossil Record: Selected Topics in Paleomicrobiology. THEIR WORLD: A DIVERSITY OF MICROBIAL ENVIRONMENTS 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-28071-4_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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8
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Siljeström S, Freissinet C, Goesmann F, Steininger H, Goetz W, Steele A, Amundsen H. Comparison of prototype and laboratory experiments on MOMA GCMS: results from the AMASE11 campaign. ASTROBIOLOGY 2014; 14:780-797. [PMID: 25238325 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2014.1197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The characterization of any organic molecules on Mars is a top-priority objective for the ExoMars European Space Agency-Russian Federal Space Agency joint mission. The main instrument for organic analysis on the ExoMars rover is the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA). In preparation for the upcoming mission in 2018, different Mars analog samples are studied with MOMA and include samples collected during the Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expedition (AMASE) to Svalbard, Norway. In this paper, we present results obtained from two different Mars analog sites visited during AMASE11, Colletthøgda and Botniahalvøya. Measurements were performed on the samples during AMASE11 with a MOMA gas chromatograph (GC) prototype connected to a commercial mass spectrometer (MS) and later in home institutions with commercial pyrolysis-GCMS instruments. In addition, derivatization experiments were performed on the samples during AMASE11 and in the laboratory. Three different samples were studied from the Colletthøgda that included one evaporite and two carbonate-bearing samples. Only a single sample was studied from the Botniahalvøya site, a weathered basalt covered by a shiny surface consisting of manganese and iron oxides. Organic molecules were detected in all four samples and included aromatics, long-chained hydrocarbons, amino acids, nucleobases, sugars, and carboxylic acids. Both pyrolysis and derivatization indicated the presence of extinct biota by the detection of carboxylic acids in the samples from Colletthøgda, while the presence of amino acids, nucleobases, carboxylic acids, and sugars indicated an active biota in the sample from Botniahalvøya. The results obtained with the prototype flight model in the field coupled with repeat measurements with commercial instruments within the laboratory were reassuringly similar. This demonstrates the performance of the MOMA instrument and validates that the instrument will aid researchers in their efforts to answer fundamental questions regarding the speciation and possible source of organic content on Mars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Siljeström
- 1 Department of Chemistry, Materials and Surfaces, SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden , Borås, Sweden
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Liu G, Deng Q, Wang H, Kang S, Yang Y, Ng DHL, Cai W, Wang G. Synthesis and Characterization of Nanostructured Fe3O4Micron-Spheres and Their Application in Removing Toxic Cr Ions from Polluted Water. Chemistry 2012; 18:13418-26. [DOI: 10.1002/chem.201200864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2012] [Revised: 06/22/2012] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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10
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Steele A, McCubbin FM, Fries M, Kater L, Boctor NZ, Fogel ML, Conrad PG, Glamoclija M, Spencer M, Morrow AL, Hammond MR, Zare RN, Vicenzi EP, Siljestrom S, Bowden R, Herd CDK, Mysen BO, Shirey SB, Amundsen HEF, Treiman AH, Bullock ES, Jull AJT. A Reduced Organic Carbon Component in Martian Basalts. Science 2012; 337:212-5. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1220715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 155] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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11
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Jimenez-Lopez C, Romanek CS, Bazylinski DA. Magnetite as a prokaryotic biomarker: A review. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2009jg001152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Christopher S. Romanek
- NASA Astrobiology Institute and Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences; University of Kentucky; Lexington Kentucky USA
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12
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Laser mass spectrometric detection of extraterrestrial aromatic molecules: mini-review and examination of pulsed heating effects. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2008; 105:18096-101. [PMID: 18687897 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0801860105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Laser mass spectrometry is a powerful tool for the sensitive, selective, and spatially resolved analysis of organic compounds in extraterrestrial materials. Using microprobe two-step laser mass spectrometry (muL(2)MS), we have explored the organic composition of many different exogenous materials, including meteorites, interplanetary dust particles, and interstellar ice analogs, gaining significant insight into the nature of extraterrestrial materials. Recently, we applied muL(2)MS to analyze the effect of heating caused by hypervelocity particle capture in aerogel, which was used on the NASA Stardust Mission to capture comet particles. We show that this material exhibits complex organic molecules upon sudden heating. Similar pulsed heating of carbonaceous materials is shown to produce an artifactual fullerene signal. We review the use of muL(2)MS to investigate extraterrestrial materials, and we discuss its recent application to characterize the effect of pulsed heating on samples of interest.
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Rochette P, Gattacceca J, Chevrier V, Mathé PE, Menvielle M. Magnetism, iron minerals, and life on Mars. ASTROBIOLOGY 2006; 6:423-36. [PMID: 16805698 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2006.6.423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
A short critical review is provided on two questions linking magnetism and possible early life on Mars: (1) Did Mars have an Earth-like internal magnetic field, and, if so, during which period and was it a requisite for life? (2) Is there a connection between iron minerals in the martian regolith and life? We also discuss the possible astrobiological implications of magnetic measurements at the surface of Mars using two proposed instruments. A magnetic remanence device based on magnetic field measurements can be used to identify Noachian age rocks and lightning impacts. A contact magnetic susceptibility probe can be used to investigate weathering rinds on martian rocks and identify meteorites among the small regolith rocks. Both materials are considered possible specific niches for microorganisms and, thus, potential astrobiological targets. Experimental results on analogues are presented to support the suitability of such in situ measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Rochette
- CEREGE, CNRS/Universitá d'Aix Marseille 3, Aix en Provence, France.
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