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Diloreto Z, Ahmad MS, Al Saad Al-Kuwari H, Sadooni F, Bontognali TRR, Dittrich M. Raman Spectroscopic and Microbial Study of Biofilms Hosted Gypsum Deposits in the Hypersaline Wetlands: Astrobiological Perspective. ASTROBIOLOGY 2023; 23:991-1005. [PMID: 37672713 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2023.0003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Abstract
Gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O) has been identified at the surface of Mars, by both orbiters and rovers. Because gypsum mostly forms in the presence of liquid water as an essential element for sustaining microbial life and has a low porosity, which is ideal for preserving organic material, it is a promising target to look for signs of past microbial life. In this article, we studied organic matter preservation within gypsum that precipitates in a salt flat or a so-called coastal sabkha located in Qatar. Sabkha's ecosystem is considered a modern analog to evaporitic environments that may have existed on early Mars. We collected the sediment cores in the areas where gypsum is formed and performed DNA analysis to characterize the community of extremophilic microorganisms that is present at the site of gypsum formation. Subsequently, we applied Raman spectroscopy, a technique available on several rovers that are currently exploring Mars, to evaluate which organic molecules can be detected through the translucent gypsum crystals. We showed that organic material can be encapsulated into evaporitic gypsum and detected via Raman microscopy with simple, straightforward sample preparation. The molecular biology data proved useful for assessing to what extent complex Raman spectra can be linked to the original microbial community, dominated by Halobacteria and methanogenic archaea, providing a reference for a signal that may be detected on Mars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zach Diloreto
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto, Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mirza Shaharyar Ahmad
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto, Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | | | | | - Tomaso R R Bontognali
- Space Exploration Institute, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Maria Dittrich
- Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences, University of Toronto, Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Finkel PL, Carrizo D, Parro V, Sánchez-García L. An Overview of Lipid Biomarkers in Terrestrial Extreme Environments with Relevance for Mars Exploration. ASTROBIOLOGY 2023; 23:563-604. [PMID: 36880883 PMCID: PMC10150655 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2022.0083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Lipid molecules are organic compounds, insoluble in water, and based on carbon-carbon chains that form an integral part of biological cell membranes. As such, lipids are ubiquitous in life on Earth, which is why they are considered useful biomarkers for life detection in terrestrial environments. These molecules display effective membrane-forming properties even under geochemically hostile conditions that challenge most of microbial life, which grants lipids a universal biomarker character suitable for life detection beyond Earth, where a putative biological membrane would also be required. What discriminates lipids from nucleic acids or proteins is their capacity to retain diagnostic information about their biological source in their recalcitrant hydrocarbon skeletons for thousands of millions of years, which is indispensable in the field of astrobiology given the time span that the geological ages of planetary bodies encompass. This work gathers studies that have employed lipid biomarker approaches for paleoenvironmental surveys and life detection purposes in terrestrial environments with extreme conditions: hydrothermal, hyperarid, hypersaline, and highly acidic, among others; all of which are analogous to current or past conditions on Mars. Although some of the compounds discussed in this review may be abiotically synthesized, we focus on those with a biological origin, namely lipid biomarkers. Therefore, along with appropriate complementary techniques such as bulk and compound-specific stable carbon isotope analysis, this work recapitulates and reevaluates the potential of lipid biomarkers as an additional, powerful tool to interrogate whether there is life on Mars, or if there ever was.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pablo L Finkel
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Physics and Mathematics and Department of Automatics, University of Alcalá, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Victor Parro
- Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, Madrid, Spain
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Wei XY, Zhu HY, Song L, Zhang RP, Li AH, Niu QH, Liu XZ, Bai FY. Yeast Diversity in the Qaidam Basin Desert in China with the Description of Five New Yeast Species. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:jof8080858. [PMID: 36012846 PMCID: PMC9409814 DOI: 10.3390/jof8080858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2022] [Revised: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 08/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The Qaidam Basin is the highest and one of the largest and driest deserts on Earth. It is considered a mars analog area in China. In contrast to numerous studies concerning its geology, geophysical, and chemistry, relatively few studies have reported microbial diversity and distribution in this area. Here, we investigated culturable yeast diversity in the northeast Qaidam Basin. A total of 194 yeast strains were isolated, and 12 genera and 21 species were identified, among which 19 were basidiomycetous yeasts. Naganishia albida, N. adeliensis, and Filobasidium magnum were the three most dominant species and were distributed in thirteen samples from eight locations. Five new species (Filobasidium chaidanensis, Kondoa globosum, Symmetrospora salmoneus, Teunia nitrariae, and Vishniacozyma pseudodimennae) were found and described based on ITS and D1D2 gene loci together with phenotypic characteristics and physiochemical analysis. Representative strains from each species were chosen for the salt-tolerant test, in which species showed different responses to different levels of NaCl concentrations. Further, the strain from soil can adapt well to the higher salt stress compared to those from plants or lichens. Our study represents the first report of the yeast diversity in the Qaidam Basin, including five new species, and also provides further information on the halotolerance of yeasts from the saline environment in mars analog.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xu-Yang Wei
- College of Life Science and Agricultural Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, 1638 Wolong Road, Nanyang 473061, China
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Hai-Yan Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.19 (A) Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Liang Song
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Ri-Peng Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- College of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.19 (A) Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Ai-Hua Li
- China General Microbiological Culture Collection Center, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Qiu-Hong Niu
- College of Life Science and Agricultural Engineering, Nanyang Normal University, 1638 Wolong Road, Nanyang 473061, China
| | - Xin-Zhan Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- Correspondence: (X.-Z.L.); (F.-Y.B.)
| | - Feng-Yan Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Mycology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- Correspondence: (X.-Z.L.); (F.-Y.B.)
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Natalicchio M, Birgel D, Dela Pierre F, Ziegenbalg S, Hoffmann-Sell L, Gier S, Peckmann J. Messinian bottom-grown selenitic gypsum: An archive of microbial life. GEOBIOLOGY 2022; 20:3-21. [PMID: 34296807 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12464] [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: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 07/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Primary gypsum deposits, which accumulated in the Mediterranean Basin during the so-called Messinian salinity crisis (5.97-5.33 Ma), represent an excellent archive of microbial life. We investigated the molecular fossil inventory and the corresponding compound-specific δ13 C values of bottom-grown gypsum formed during the first stage of the crisis in four marginal basins across the Mediterranean (Nijar, Spain; Vena del Gesso, Italy; Heraklion, Crete; and Psematismenos, Cyprus). All studied gypsum samples contain intricate networks of filamentous microfossils, whose phylogenetic affiliation has been debated for a long time. Petrographic analysis, molecular fossil inventories (hydrocarbons, alcohols, and carboxylic acids), and carbon stable isotope patterns suggest that the mazes of filamentous fossils represent benthic microbial assemblages dominated by chemotrophic sulfide-oxidizing bacteria; in some of the samples, the body fossils are accompanied by lipids produced by sulfate-reducing bacteria. Abundant isoprenoid alcohols including diphytanyl glycerol diethers (DGDs) and glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs), typified by highly variable carbon stable isotope composition with δ13 C values spanning from -40 to -14‰, reveal the presence of planktic and benthic archaeal communities dwelling in Messinian paleoenvironments. The compound inventory of archaeal lipids indicates the existence of a stratified water column, with a normal marine to diluted upper water column and more saline deeper waters. This study documents the lipid biomarker inventory of microbial life preserved in ancient gypsum deposits, helping to reconstruct the widely debated conditions under which Messinian gypsum formed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcello Natalicchio
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy
| | - Daniel Birgel
- Institut für Geologie, Centrum für Erdsystemforschung und Nachhaltigkeit, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Francesco Dela Pierre
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy
| | | | | | - Susanne Gier
- Institut für Geologie, Universität Wien, Wien, Austria
| | - Jörn Peckmann
- Institut für Geologie, Centrum für Erdsystemforschung und Nachhaltigkeit, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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Carrizo D, Sánchez-García L, Rodriguez N, Gómez F. Lipid Biomarker and Carbon Stable Isotope Survey on the Dallol Hydrothermal System in Ethiopia. ASTROBIOLOGY 2019; 19:1474-1489. [PMID: 31112043 PMCID: PMC6921156 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2018.1963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2018] [Accepted: 04/17/2019] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
The remote Dallol Hot Springs, an active hydrothermal system in the volcanic region of Danakil (Ethiopia), is an interesting yet poorly studied polyextreme environment for investigating the limits of life. Here, we explored the presence of signs of life in five samples of sinter deposits at Dallol, by means of lipid biomarkers and stable isotope composition. The results reveal the existence of biological material with predominance of (presently or recently active) microbial sources, according to the relative abundance of low-over-high molecular weight moieties (n-alkanes, n-carboxylic acids, or n-alkanols), and the detection of diverse microbial-diagnostic compounds (i.e., monomethyl alkanes; C16:1 ω7, C18:1 ω9, C18:1 ω10, C18:2 ω6,9 and iso/anteiso C15 and C17 carboxylic acids; or short-chained dicarboxylic acids). The molecular lipid patterns at Dallol suggest a microbial community largely composed of thermophilic members of the Aquificae, Thermotogae, Chroroflexi, or Proteobacteria phyla, as well as microbial consortia of phototrophs (e.g., Cyanobacteria-Chloroflexi) in lower-temperature and higher-pH niches. Autotrophic sources most likely using the Calvin cycle, together with the acetyl coenzyme A (CoA) pathway, were inferred from the depleted bulk δ13C ratios (-25.9/-22.6‰), while sulfate-reducing bacteria were considered according to enriched sulfate (7.3/11.7‰) and total sulfur (20.5/8.2‰) δ34S ratios. The abundance of functionalized hydrocarbons (i.e., n-carboxylic acids and n-alkanols) and the distinct even-over-odd predominance/preference on the typically odd n-alkanes (CPIalkanes ≤ 1) pointed to active or recent microbial metabolisms. This study documents the detection of biosignatures in the polyextreme environment of Dallol and raises the possibility of finding life or its remnants in other remote locations on Earth, where the harsh environmental conditions would lead to expect otherwise. These findings are relevant for understanding the limits of life and have implications for searching for hypothetical life vestiges in extreme environments beyond Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Carrizo
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Nuria Rodriguez
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Felipe Gómez
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
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Kong F, Zheng M, Hu B, Wang A, Ma N, Sobron P. Dalangtan Saline Playa in a Hyperarid Region on Tibet Plateau: I. Evolution and Environments. ASTROBIOLOGY 2018; 18:1243-1253. [PMID: 29792755 PMCID: PMC6205091 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2018.1830] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2018] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Since 2008, we have been studying a saline lake, Dalangtan (DLT) Playa, and its surroundings in a hyperarid region of the Qaidam Basin on the Tibetan Plateau as a potential Mars analog site. We describe the evolution of saline deposits in the Qaidam Basin (including DLT), based on investigative findings accumulated over the course of 60 years of geological surveys. In addition, we report regional meteorological patterns recorded for the past 32 years along with meteorological station recorded data at DLT since 2012. Overall, the DLT area on the Tibetan Plateau has low atmospheric pressure, high ultraviolet radiation, low annual mean temperatures (T) but large seasonal and diurnal T cycles, and extremely low relative humidity, all of which bear some similarities with the equatorial region on Mars. In addition, salt types similar to those found on Mars, such as magnesium-sulfates, chlorides, and perchlorates, are found at the surface and subsurface in the DLT area (and the other two playas in the Qaidam Basin), thus supporting DLT as a Mars analog in terms of mineralogy and geochemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanjing Kong
- MLR Key Laboratory of Saline Lake Resources and Environments, Institute of Mineral Resources, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Mianping Zheng
- MLR Key Laboratory of Saline Lake Resources and Environments, Institute of Mineral Resources, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Bin Hu
- MLR Key Laboratory of Saline Lake Resources and Environments, Institute of Mineral Resources, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China
- Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Alian Wang
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McDonnell Center for Space Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Nina Ma
- MLR Key Laboratory of Saline Lake Resources and Environments, Institute of Mineral Resources, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Pablo Sobron
- SETI Institute, Mountain View, California
- Impossible Sensing, St. Louis, Missouri
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Wang A, Sobron P, Kong F, Zheng M, Zhao YYS. Dalangtan Saline Playa in a Hyperarid Region on Tibet Plateau: II. Preservation of Salts with High Hydration Degrees in Subsurface. ASTROBIOLOGY 2018; 18:1254-1276. [PMID: 30152704 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2018.1829] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Based on a field expedition to the Dalangtan (DLT) saline playa located in a hyperarid region (Qaidam Basin) on the Tibet Plateau and follow-up investigations, we report the mineralogy and geochemistry of the salt layers in two vertical stratigraphic cross sections in the DLT playa. Na-, Ca-, Mg-, KCaMg-sulfates; Na-, K-, KMg-chlorides; mixed (K, Mg)-chloride-sulfate; and chlorate and perchlorate were identified in the collected samples. This mineral assemblage represents the last-stage precipitation products from Na-K-Mg-Ca-Cl-SO4 brine and the oxychlorine formation from photochemistry reaction similar to other hyperarid regions on Earth. The spatial distributions of these salts in both stratigraphic cross sections suggest very limited brine volumes during the precipitation episodes in the Holocene era. More importantly, sulfates and chlorides with a high degree of hydrations were found preserved within the subsurface salt-rich layers of DLT saline playa, where the environmental conditions at the surface are controlled by the hyperaridity in the Qaidam Basin on the Tibet Plateau. Our findings suggest a very different temperature and relative humidity environment maintained by the hydrous salts in a subsurface salty layer, where the climatic conditions at surface have very little or no influence. This observation bears some similarities with four observations on Mars, which implies not only a large humidity reservoir in midlatitude and equatorial regions on Mars but also habitability potential that warrants further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alian Wang
- 1 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McDonnell Center for Space Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis , St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Pablo Sobron
- 2 SETI Institute , Mountain View, California
- 3 Impossible Sensing , St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Fanjing Kong
- 4 MLR Key Laboratory of Saline Lake Environments and Resources, Institute of Mineral Resources , Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Mianping Zheng
- 4 MLR Key Laboratory of Saline Lake Environments and Resources, Institute of Mineral Resources , Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yu-Yan Sara Zhao
- 5 Institute of Geochemistry , Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang, China
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Huang T, Wang R, Xiao L, Wang H, Martínez JM, Escudero C, Amils R, Cheng Z, Xu Y. Dalangtan Playa (Qaidam Basin, NW China): Its microbial life and physicochemical characteristics and their astrobiological implications. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0200949. [PMID: 30067805 PMCID: PMC6070256 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0200949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2018] [Accepted: 07/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Dalangtan Playa is the second largest salt playa in the Qaidam Basin, north-western China. The hyper saline deposition, extremely arid climate and high UV radiation make Dalangtan a Mars analogue both for geomorphology and life preservation. To better understand microbial life at Dalangtan, both culture-dependent and culture-independent methods were examined and simultaneously, environment conditions and the evaporitic mineral assemblages were investigated. Ten and thirteen subsurface samples were collected along a 595-cm deep profile (P1) and a 685-cm deep profile (P2) respectively, and seven samples were gathered from surface sediments. These samples are composed of salt minerals, minor silicate mineral fragments and clays. The total bacterial cell numbers are (1.54±0.49) ×10(5) g-1 for P1 and (3.22±0.95) ×10(5) g-1 for P2 as indicated by the CAtalyzed Reporter Deposition- Fluorescent in situ Hybridization (CARD-FISH). 76.6% and 75.7% of the bacteria belong to Firmicutes phylum respectively from P1 and P2. In total, 47 bacteria and 6 fungi were isolated from 22 subsurface samples. In contrast, only 3 bacteria and 1 fungus were isolated from 3 surface samples. The isolated bacteria show high homology (≥97%) with members of the Firmicutes phylum (47 strains, 8 genera) and the Actinobacteria phylum (3 strains, 2 genera), which agrees with the result of CARD-FISH. Isolated fungi showed ≥98% ITS1 homology with members of the phylum Ascomycota. Moisture content and TOC values may control the sediments colonization. Given the deliquescence of salts, evaporites may provide refuge for microbial life, which merits further investigation. Halotolerant and spore-forming microorganisms are the dominant microbial groups capable of surviving under extreme conditions. Our results offer brand-new information on microbial biomass in Dalangtan Playa and shed light on understanding the potential microbial life in the dried playa or paleo-lakes on Mars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Geological Process and Mineral Resources, Planetary Science Institute, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Ruicheng Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Long Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Geological Process and Mineral Resources, Planetary Science Institute, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China
- Space Science Institute, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China
- * E-mail: (LX); (HW)
| | - Hongmei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China
- * E-mail: (LX); (HW)
| | - José M. Martínez
- Centro de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa” (UAM-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Cristina Escudero
- Centro de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa” (UAM-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
| | - Ricardo Amils
- Centro de Biología Molecular “Severo Ochoa” (UAM-CSIC), Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
| | - Ziye Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Geological Process and Mineral Resources, Planetary Science Institute, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, Hubei, China
| | - Yi Xu
- Space Science Institute, Macau University of Science and Technology, Macau, China
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