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Ramkissoon NK, Macey MC, Kucukkilic-Stephens E, Barton T, Steele A, Johnson DN, Stephens BP, Schwenzer SP, Pearson VK, Olsson-Francis K. Experimental Identification of Potential Martian Biosignatures in Open and Closed Systems. ASTROBIOLOGY 2024; 24:538-558. [PMID: 38648554 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2023.0013] [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: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
NASA's Perseverance and ESA's Rosalind Franklin rovers have the scientific goal of searching for evidence of ancient life on Mars. Geochemical biosignatures that form because of microbe-mineral interactions could play a key role in achieving this, as they can be preserved for millions of years on Earth, and the same could be true for Mars. Previous laboratory experiments have explored the formation of biosignatures under closed systems, but these do not represent the open systems that are found in natural martian environments, such as channels and lakes. In this study, we have conducted environmental simulation experiments using a global regolith simulant (OUCM-1), a thermochemically modelled groundwater, and an anaerobic microbial community to explore the formation of geochemical biosignatures within plausible open and closed systems on Mars. This initial investigation showed differences in the diversity of the microbial community developed after 28 days. In an open-system simulation (flow-through experiment), the acetogenic Acetobacterium (49% relative abundance) and the sulfate reducer Desulfosporomusa (43% relative abundance) were the dominant genera. Whereas in the batch experiment, the sulfate reducers Desulfovibrio, Desulfomicrobium, and Desulfuromonas (95% relative abundance in total) were dominant. We also found evidence of enhanced mineral dissolution within the flow-through experiment, but there was little evidence of secondary deposits in the presence of biota. In contrast, SiO2 and Fe deposits formed within the batch experiment with biota but not under abiotic conditions. The results from these initial experiments indicate that different geochemical biosignatures can be generated between open and closed systems, and therefore, biosignature formation in open systems warrants further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michael C Macey
- AstrobiologyOU, STEM Faculty, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | | | - Timothy Barton
- AstrobiologyOU, STEM Faculty, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - Andrew Steele
- Earth and Planetary Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, DC, USA
| | - David N Johnson
- AstrobiologyOU, STEM Faculty, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
| | - Ben P Stephens
- AstrobiologyOU, STEM Faculty, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
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2
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Spry JA, Siegel B, Bakermans C, Beaty DW, Bell MS, Benardini JN, Bonaccorsi R, Castro-Wallace SL, Coil DA, Coustenis A, Doran PT, Fenton L, Fidler DP, Glass B, Hoffman SJ, Karouia F, Levine JS, Lupisella ML, Martin-Torres J, Mogul R, Olsson-Francis K, Ortega-Ugalde S, Patel MR, Pearce DA, Race MS, Regberg AB, Rettberg P, Rummel JD, Sato KY, Schuerger AC, Sefton-Nash E, Sharkey M, Singh NK, Sinibaldi S, Stabekis P, Stoker CR, Venkateswaran KJ, Zimmerman RR, Zorzano-Mier MP. Planetary Protection Knowledge Gap Closure Enabling Crewed Missions to Mars. ASTROBIOLOGY 2024; 24:230-274. [PMID: 38507695 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2023.0092] [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: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
As focus for exploration of Mars transitions from current robotic explorers to development of crewed missions, it remains important to protect the integrity of scientific investigations at Mars, as well as protect the Earth's biosphere from any potential harmful effects from returned martian material. This is the discipline of planetary protection, and the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) maintains the consensus international policy and guidelines on how this is implemented. Based on National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and European Space Agency (ESA) studies that began in 2001, COSPAR adopted principles and guidelines for human missions to Mars in 2008. At that point, it was clear that to move from those qualitative provisions, a great deal of work and interaction with spacecraft designers would be necessary to generate meaningful quantitative recommendations that could embody the intent of the Outer Space Treaty (Article IX) in the design of such missions. Beginning in 2016, COSPAR then sponsored a multiyear interdisciplinary meeting series to address planetary protection "knowledge gaps" (KGs) with the intent of adapting and extending the current robotic mission-focused Planetary Protection Policy to support the design and implementation of crewed and hybrid exploration missions. This article describes the outcome of the interdisciplinary COSPAR meeting series, to describe and address these KGs, as well as identify potential paths to gap closure. It includes the background scientific basis for each topic area and knowledge updates since the meeting series ended. In particular, credible solutions for KG closure are described for the three topic areas of (1) microbial monitoring of spacecraft and crew health; (2) natural transport (and survival) of terrestrial microbial contamination at Mars, and (3) the technology and operation of spacecraft systems for contamination control. The article includes a KG data table on these topic areas, which is intended to be a point of departure for making future progress in developing an end-to-end planetary protection requirements implementation solution for a crewed mission to Mars. Overall, the workshop series has provided evidence of the feasibility of planetary protection implementation for a crewed Mars mission, given (1) the establishment of needed zoning, emission, transport, and survival parameters for terrestrial biological contamination and (2) the creation of an accepted risk-based compliance approach for adoption by spacefaring actors including national space agencies and commercial/nongovernment organizations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Corien Bakermans
- Department of Biology, Penn. State University (Altoona), Altoona, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - David W Beaty
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | | | | | - Rosalba Bonaccorsi
- SETI Institute, Mountain View, California, USA
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | | | - David A Coil
- School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA
| | | | - Peter T Doran
- Department of Geology & Geophysics, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
| | - Lori Fenton
- SETI Institute, Mountain View, California, USA
| | - David P Fidler
- Council on Foreign Relations, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Brian Glass
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | | | - Fathi Karouia
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
| | - Joel S Levine
- College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia, USA
| | | | - Javier Martin-Torres
- School of Geoscience, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom
- Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra (CSIC-UGR), Armilla, Spain
| | - Rakesh Mogul
- California Polytechnic (Pomona), Pomona, California, USA
| | - Karen Olsson-Francis
- School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
| | | | - Manish R Patel
- School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, Open University, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
| | - David A Pearce
- Department of Applied Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | | | | | | | - John D Rummel
- Friday Harbor Associates LLC, Friday Harbor, Washington, USA
| | | | - Andrew C Schuerger
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida, Merritt Island, Florida, USA
| | | | - Matthew Sharkey
- US Department of Health & Human Services, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
| | - Nitin K Singh
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
| | | | | | - Carol R Stoker
- NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
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Koyama S, Kamada A, Furukawa Y, Terada N, Nakamura Y, Yoshida T, Kuroda T, Vandaele AC. Atmospheric formaldehyde production on early Mars leading to a potential formation of bio-important molecules. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2397. [PMID: 38336798 PMCID: PMC10858170 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-52718-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Formaldehyde (H2CO) is a critical precursor for the abiotic formation of biomolecules, including amino acids and sugars, which are the building blocks of proteins and RNA. Geomorphological and geochemical evidence on Mars indicates a temperate environment compatible with the existence of surface liquid water during its early history at 3.8-3.6 billion years ago (Ga), which was maintained by the warming effect of reducing gases, such as H2. However, it remains uncertain whether such a temperate and weakly reducing surface environment on early Mars was suitable for producing H2CO. In this study, we investigated the atmospheric production of H2CO on early Mars using a 1-D photochemical model assuming a thick CO2-dominated atmosphere with H2 and CO. Our results show that a continuous supply of atmospheric H2CO can be used to form various organic compounds, including amino acids and sugars. This could be a possible origin for the organic matter observed on the Martian surface. Given the previously reported conversion rate from H2CO into ribose, the calculated H2CO deposition flux suggests a continuous supply of bio-important sugars on early Mars, particularly during the Noachian and early Hesperian periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shungo Koyama
- Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan.
| | - Arihiro Kamada
- Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Yoshihiro Furukawa
- Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Naoki Terada
- Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Yuki Nakamura
- Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Tatsuya Yoshida
- Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Takeshi Kuroda
- Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan
- Division for the Establishment of Frontier Sciences of Organization for Advanced Studies, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan
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Boulesteix D, Buch A, Samson J, Millan M, Jomaa J, Coscia D, Moulay V, McIntosh O, Freissinet C, Stern JC, Szopa C. Influence of pH and salts on DMF-DMA derivatization for future Space Applications. Anal Chim Acta 2023; 1266:341270. [PMID: 37244655 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2023.341270] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
For gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses performed in situ, pH and salts (e.g., chlorides, sulfates) may enhance or inhibit the detection of targeted molecules of interest for astrobiology (e.g. amino acids, fatty acids, nucleobases). Obviously, salts influence the ionic strength of the solutions, the pH value, and the salting effect. But the presence of salts may also produce complexes or mask ions in the sample (masking effect on hydroxide ion, ammonia, etc.). For future space missions, wet chemistry will be conducted before GC-MS analyses to detect the full organic content of a sample. The defined organic targets for space GC-MS instrument requirements are generally strongly polar or refractory organic compounds, such as amino acids playing a role in the protein production and metabolism regulations for life on Earth, nucleobases essential for DNA and RNA formation and mutation, and fatty acids that composed most of the eukaryote and prokaryote membranes on Earth and resist to environmental stress long enough to still be observed on Mars or ocean worlds in geological well-preserved records. The wet-chemistry chemical treatment consists of reacting an organic reagent with the sample to extract and volatilize polar or refractory organic molecules (i.e. dimethylformamide dimethyl acetal (DMF-DMA) in this study). DMF-DMA derivatizes functional groups with labile H in organics, without modifying their chiral conformation. The influence of pH and salt concentration of extraterrestrial materials on the DMF-DMA derivatization remains understudied. In this research, we studied the influence of different salts and pHs on the derivatization of organic molecules of astrobiological interest with DMF-DMA, such as amino acids, carboxylic acids, and nucleobases. Results show that salts and pH influence the derivatization yield, and that their effect depend on the nature of the organics and the salts studied. Second, monovalent salts lead to a higher or similar organic recovery compared to divalent salts regardless of pH below 8. However, a pH above 8 inhibits the DMF-DMA derivatization influencing the carboxylic acid function to become an anionic group without labile H. Overall, considering the negative effect of the salts on the detection of organic molecules, future space missions may have to consider a desalting step prior to derivatization and GC-MS analyses.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Boulesteix
- Laboratoire Génie des Procédés et Matériaux, CentraleSupélec, University Paris-Saclay, 8-10 Rue Joliot-Curie, 91190, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
| | - A Buch
- Laboratoire Génie des Procédés et Matériaux, CentraleSupélec, University Paris-Saclay, 8-10 Rue Joliot-Curie, 91190, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
| | - J Samson
- Laboratoire Génie des Procédés et Matériaux, CentraleSupélec, University Paris-Saclay, 8-10 Rue Joliot-Curie, 91190, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - M Millan
- LATMOS/IPSL, UVSQ University Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne University, CNRS, 11 Bd d'Alembert, 78280, Guyancourt, France
| | - J Jomaa
- Planetary Environments Laboratory (Code 699), NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA; School of Medicine, Wayne State University, 42 W. Warren Ave, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA
| | - D Coscia
- LATMOS/IPSL, UVSQ University Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne University, CNRS, 11 Bd d'Alembert, 78280, Guyancourt, France
| | - V Moulay
- LATMOS/IPSL, UVSQ University Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne University, CNRS, 11 Bd d'Alembert, 78280, Guyancourt, France
| | - O McIntosh
- LATMOS/IPSL, UVSQ University Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne University, CNRS, 11 Bd d'Alembert, 78280, Guyancourt, France
| | - C Freissinet
- LATMOS/IPSL, UVSQ University Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne University, CNRS, 11 Bd d'Alembert, 78280, Guyancourt, France
| | - J C Stern
- Space Science Exploration Division (Code 690), NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, 20771, USA
| | - C Szopa
- LATMOS/IPSL, UVSQ University Paris-Saclay, Sorbonne University, CNRS, 11 Bd d'Alembert, 78280, Guyancourt, France
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Seaton KM, Cable ML, Stockton AM. Analytical Chemistry Throughout This Solar System. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY (PALO ALTO, CALIF.) 2022; 15:197-219. [PMID: 35300527 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-anchem-061020-125416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
One of the greatest and most long-lived scientific pursuits of humankind has been to discover and study the planetary objects comprising our solar system. Information gained from solar system observations, via both remote sensing and in situ measurements, is inherently constrained by the analytical (often chemical) techniques we employ in these endeavors. The past 50 years of planetary science missions have resulted in immense discoveries within and beyond our solar system, enabled by state-of-the-art analytical chemical instrument suites on board these missions. In this review, we highlight and discuss some of the most impactful analytical chemical instruments flown on planetary science missions within the last 20 years, including analytical techniques ranging from remote spectroscopy to in situ chemical separations. We first highlight mission-based remote and in situ spectroscopic techniques, followed by in situ separation and mass spectrometry analyses. The results of these investigations are discussed, and their implications examined, from worlds as close as Venus and familiar as Mars to as far away and exotic as Titan. Instruments currently in development for planetary science missions in the near future are also discussed, as are the promises their capabilities bring. Analytical chemistry is critical to understanding what lies beyond Earth in our solar system, and this review seeks to highlight how questions, analytical tools, and answers have intersected over the past 20 years and their implications for the near future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth Marshall Seaton
- School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA;
| | - Morgan Leigh Cable
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
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Liu Y, Wu X, Zhao YYS, Pan L, Wang C, Liu J, Zhao Z, Zhou X, Zhang C, Wu Y, Wan W, Zou Y. Zhurong reveals recent aqueous activities in Utopia Planitia, Mars. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabn8555. [PMID: 35544566 PMCID: PMC9094648 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn8555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
The Mars' climate is cold and dry in the most recent epoch, and liquid water activities are considered extremely limited. Previous orbital data only show sporadic hydrous minerals in the northern lowlands of Mars excavated by large impacts. Using the short-wave infrared spectral data obtained by the Zhurong rover of China's Tianwen-1 mission, which landed in southern Utopia Planitia on Mars, we identify hydrated sulfate/silica materials on the Amazonian terrain at the landing site. These hydrated minerals are associated with bright-toned rocks, interpreted to be duricrust developed locally. The lithified duricrusts suggest that formation with substantial liquid water originates by either groundwater rising or subsurface ice melting. In situ evidence for aqueous activities identified at Zhurong's landing site indicates a more active Amazonian hydrosphere for Mars than previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 200083, China
- Corresponding author.
| | - Xing Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Yu-Yan Sara Zhao
- Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 200083, China
- Center for Lunar and Planetary Sciences, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550081, China
| | - Lu Pan
- Center for Star and Planet Formation, GLOBE Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Chi Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Jia Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Zhenxing Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xiang Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Chaolin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yuchun Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Wenhui Wan
- State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Yongliao Zou
- State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
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Merging Perspectives on Secondary Minerals on Mars: A Review of Ancient Water-Rock Interactions in Gale Crater Inferred from Orbital and In-Situ Observations. MINERALS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/min11090986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Phyllosilicates, sulfates, and Fe oxides are the most prevalent secondary minerals detected on Mars from orbit and the surface, including in the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover’s field site at Gale crater. These records of aqueous activity have been investigated in detail in Gale crater, where Curiosity’s X-ray diffractometer allows for direct observation and detailed characterization of mineral structure and abundance. This capability provides critical ground truthing to better understand how to interpret Martian mineralogy inferred from orbital datasets. Curiosity is about to leave behind phyllosilicate-rich strata for more sulfate-rich terrains, while the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover is in its early exploration of ancient sedimentary strata in Jezero crater. It is thus an appropriate time to review Gale crater’s mineral distribution from multiple perspectives, utilizing the range of chemical, mineralogical, and spectral measurements provided by orbital and in situ observations. This review compares orbital predictions of composition in Gale crater with higher fidelity (but more spatially restricted) in situ measurements by Curiosity, and we synthesize how this information contributes to our understanding of water-rock interaction in Gale crater. In the context of combining these disparate spatial scales, we also discuss implications for the larger understanding of martian surface evolution and the need for a wide range of data types and scales to properly reconstruct ancient geologic processes using remote methods.
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A Review of the Phyllosilicates in Gale Crater as Detected by the CheMin Instrument on the Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity Rover. MINERALS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/min11080847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Curiosity, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover, landed on Mars in August 2012 to investigate the ~3.5-billion-year-old (Ga) fluvio-lacustrine sedimentary deposits of Aeolis Mons (informally known as Mount Sharp) and the surrounding plains (Aeolis Palus) in Gale crater. After nearly nine years, Curiosity has traversed over 25 km, and the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) X-ray diffraction instrument on-board Curiosity has analyzed 30 drilled rock and three scooped soil samples to date. The principal strategic goal of the mission is to assess the habitability of Mars in its ancient past. Phyllosilicates are common in ancient Martian terrains dating to ~3.5–4 Ga and were detected from orbit in some of the lower strata of Mount Sharp. Phyllosilicates on Earth are important for harboring and preserving organics. On Mars, phyllosilicates are significant for exploration as they are hypothesized to be a marker for potential habitable environments. CheMin data demonstrate that ancient fluvio-lacustrine rocks in Gale crater contain up to ~35 wt. % phyllosilicates. Phyllosilicates are key indicators of past fluid–rock interactions, and variation in the structure and composition of phyllosilicates in Gale crater suggest changes in past aqueous environments that may have been habitable to microbial life with a variety of possible energy sources.
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Seaton KM, Cable ML, Stockton AM. Analytical Chemistry in Astrobiology. Anal Chem 2021; 93:5981-5997. [PMID: 33835785 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.0c04271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
This Feature introduces and discusses the findings of key analytical techniques used to study planetary bodies in our solar system in the search for life beyond Earth, future missions planned for high-priority astrobiology targets in our solar system, and the challenges we face in performing these investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenneth Marshall Seaton
- School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, North Avenue NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Morgan Leigh Cable
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109, United States
| | - Amanda Michelle Stockton
- School of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Georgia Institute of Technology, North Avenue NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
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10
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Quantin-Nataf C, Carter J, Mandon L, Thollot P, Balme M, Volat M, Pan L, Loizeau D, Millot C, Breton S, Dehouck E, Fawdon P, Gupta S, Davis J, Grindrod PM, Pacifici A, Bultel B, Allemand P, Ody A, Lozach L, Broyer J. Oxia Planum: The Landing Site for the ExoMars "Rosalind Franklin" Rover Mission: Geological Context and Prelanding Interpretation. ASTROBIOLOGY 2021; 21:345-366. [PMID: 33400892 PMCID: PMC7987365 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2019.2191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
The European Space Agency (ESA) and Roscosmos ExoMars mission will launch the "Rosalind Franklin" rover in 2022 for a landing on Mars in 2023.The goals of the mission are to search for signs of past and present life on Mars, investigate the water/geochemical environment as a function of depth in the shallow subsurface, and characterize the surface environment. To meet these scientific objectives while minimizing the risk for landing, a 5-year-long landing site selection process was conducted by ESA, during which eight candidate sites were down selected to one: Oxia Planum. Oxia Planum is a 200 km-wide low-relief terrain characterized by hydrous clay-bearing bedrock units located at the southwest margin of Arabia Terra. This region exhibits Noachian-aged terrains. We show in this study that the selected landing site has recorded at least two distinct aqueous environments, both of which occurred during the Noachian: (1) a first phase that led to the deposition and alteration of ∼100 m of layered clay-rich deposits and (2) a second phase of a fluviodeltaic system that postdates the widespread clay-rich layered unit. Rounded isolated buttes that overlie the clay-bearing unit may also be related to aqueous processes. Our study also details the formation of an unaltered mafic-rich dark resistant unit likely of Amazonian age that caps the other units and possibly originated from volcanism. Oxia Planum shows evidence for intense erosion from morphology (inverted features) and crater statistics. Due to these erosional processes, two types of Noachian sedimentary rocks are currently exposed. We also expect rocks at the surface to have been exposed to cosmic bombardment only recently, minimizing organic matter damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cathy Quantin-Nataf
- Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon 1, ENS Lyon, CNRS, LGL-TPE, 2 Rue Raphael Dubois, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France, France
- Address correspondence to: Cathy Quantin-Nataf, Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon 1, ENSL, CNRS, LGL-TPE, Villeurbanne F-69622, France
| | - John Carter
- Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, Univ Paris Sud, CNRS, UMR 8617, Univ Paris-Saclay, Bat 120-121, F-91405 Orsay, France
| | - Lucia Mandon
- Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon 1, ENS Lyon, CNRS, LGL-TPE, 2 Rue Raphael Dubois, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France, France
| | - Patrick Thollot
- Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon 1, ENS Lyon, CNRS, LGL-TPE, 2 Rue Raphael Dubois, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France, France
| | - Matthew Balme
- Open Univ, Dept Earth & Environm Sci, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, Bucks, England
| | - Matthieu Volat
- Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon 1, ENS Lyon, CNRS, LGL-TPE, 2 Rue Raphael Dubois, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France, France
| | - Lu Pan
- Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon 1, ENS Lyon, CNRS, LGL-TPE, 2 Rue Raphael Dubois, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France, France
| | - Damien Loizeau
- Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon 1, ENS Lyon, CNRS, LGL-TPE, 2 Rue Raphael Dubois, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France, France
- Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, Univ Paris Sud, CNRS, UMR 8617, Univ Paris-Saclay, Bat 120-121, F-91405 Orsay, France
| | - Cédric Millot
- Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon 1, ENS Lyon, CNRS, LGL-TPE, 2 Rue Raphael Dubois, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France, France
| | - Sylvain Breton
- Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon 1, ENS Lyon, CNRS, LGL-TPE, 2 Rue Raphael Dubois, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France, France
| | - Erwin Dehouck
- Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon 1, ENS Lyon, CNRS, LGL-TPE, 2 Rue Raphael Dubois, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France, France
| | - Peter Fawdon
- Open Univ, Dept Earth & Environm Sci, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, Bucks, England
| | - Sanjeev Gupta
- Univ London Imperial Coll Sci Technol & Med, Dept Earth Sci & Engn, London SW7 2AZ, England
| | - Joel Davis
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
| | - Peter M. Grindrod
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Benjamin Bultel
- Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon 1, ENS Lyon, CNRS, LGL-TPE, 2 Rue Raphael Dubois, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France, France
- Department for Geosciences, Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics (CEED), University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Pascal Allemand
- Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon 1, ENS Lyon, CNRS, LGL-TPE, 2 Rue Raphael Dubois, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France, France
| | - Anouck Ody
- Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon 1, ENS Lyon, CNRS, LGL-TPE, 2 Rue Raphael Dubois, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France, France
| | - Loic Lozach
- Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon 1, ENS Lyon, CNRS, LGL-TPE, 2 Rue Raphael Dubois, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France, France
| | - Jordan Broyer
- Univ Lyon, Univ Lyon 1, ENS Lyon, CNRS, LGL-TPE, 2 Rue Raphael Dubois, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France, France
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11
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Osinski G, Cockell C, Pontefract A, Sapers H. The Role of Meteorite Impacts in the Origin of Life. ASTROBIOLOGY 2020; 20:1121-1149. [PMID: 32876492 PMCID: PMC7499892 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2019.2203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
The conditions, timing, and setting for the origin of life on Earth and whether life exists elsewhere in our solar system and beyond represent some of the most fundamental scientific questions of our time. Although the bombardment of planets and satellites by asteroids and comets has long been viewed as a destructive process that would have presented a barrier to the emergence of life and frustrated or extinguished life, we provide a comprehensive synthesis of data and observations on the beneficial role of impacts in a wide range of prebiotic and biological processes. In the context of previously proposed environments for the origin of life on Earth, we discuss how meteorite impacts can generate both subaerial and submarine hydrothermal vents, abundant hydrothermal-sedimentary settings, and impact analogues for volcanic pumice rafts and splash pools. Impact events can also deliver and/or generate many of the necessary chemical ingredients for life and catalytic substrates such as clays as well. The role that impact cratering plays in fracturing planetary crusts and its effects on deep subsurface habitats for life are also discussed. In summary, we propose that meteorite impact events are a fundamental geobiological process in planetary evolution that played an important role in the origin of life on Earth. We conclude with the recommendation that impact craters should be considered prime sites in the search for evidence of past life on Mars. Furthermore, unlike other geological processes such as volcanism or plate tectonics, impact cratering is ubiquitous on planetary bodies throughout the Universe and is independent of size, composition, and distance from the host star. Impact events thus provide a mechanism with the potential to generate habitable planets, moons, and asteroids throughout the Solar System and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- G.R. Osinski
- Institute for Earth and Space Exploration, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
- Address correspondence to: Dr. Gordon Osinski, Department of Earth Sciences, 1151 Richmond Street, University of Western Ontario, London ON, N6A 5B7, Canada
| | - C.S. Cockell
- UK Centre for Astrobiology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - A. Pontefract
- Department of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - H.M. Sapers
- Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
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12
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Extremophiles: a special or general case in the search for extra-terrestrial life? Extremophiles 2019; 24:167-175. [DOI: 10.1007/s00792-019-01144-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2019] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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13
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Lasne J, Noblet A, Szopa C, Navarro-González R, Cabane M, Poch O, Stalport F, François P, Atreya SK, Coll P. Oxidants at the Surface of Mars: A Review in Light of Recent Exploration Results. ASTROBIOLOGY 2016; 16:977-996. [PMID: 27925795 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2016.1502] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
In 1976, the Viking landers carried out the most comprehensive search for organics and microbial life in the martian regolith. Their results indicate that Mars' surface is lifeless and, surprisingly, depleted in organics at part-per-billion levels. Several biology experiments on the Viking landers gave controversial results that have since been explained by the presence of oxidizing agents on the surface of Mars. These oxidants may degrade abiotic or biological organics, resulting in their nondetection in the regolith. As several exploration missions currently focus on the detection of organics on Mars (or will do so in the near future), knowledge of the oxidative state of the surface is fundamental. It will allow for determination of the capability of organics to survive on a geological timescale, the most favorable places to seek them, and the best methods to process the samples collected at the surface. With this aim, we review the main oxidants assumed to be present on Mars, their possible formation pathways, and those laboratory studies in which their reactivity with organics under Mars-like conditions has been evaluated. Among the oxidants assumed to be present on Mars, only four have been detected so far: perchlorate ions (ClO4-) in salts, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the atmosphere, and clays and metal oxides composing surface minerals. Clays have been suggested as catalysts for the oxidation of organics but are treated as oxidants in the following to keep the structure of this article straightforward. This work provides an insight into the oxidizing potential of the surface of Mars and an estimate of the stability of organic matter in an oxidizing environment. Key Words: Mars surface-Astrobiology-Oxidant-Chemical reactions. Astrobiology 16, 977-996.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Lasne
- 1 LISA, Universités Paris-Est Créteil and Paris Diderot, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace , CNRS UMR 7583, Créteil, France
| | - A Noblet
- 1 LISA, Universités Paris-Est Créteil and Paris Diderot, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace , CNRS UMR 7583, Créteil, France
| | - C Szopa
- 2 LATMOS, UPMC Université Paris 06, Université Versailles St Quentin , CNRS, Guyancourt, France
| | - R Navarro-González
- 3 Laboratorio de Química de Plasmas y Estudios Planetarios, Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México , Ciudad de México, México
| | - M Cabane
- 2 LATMOS, UPMC Université Paris 06, Université Versailles St Quentin , CNRS, Guyancourt, France
| | - O Poch
- 1 LISA, Universités Paris-Est Créteil and Paris Diderot, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace , CNRS UMR 7583, Créteil, France
- 4 NCCR PlanetS, Physikalisches Institut, Universität Bern , Bern, Switzerland
| | - F Stalport
- 1 LISA, Universités Paris-Est Créteil and Paris Diderot, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace , CNRS UMR 7583, Créteil, France
| | - P François
- 1 LISA, Universités Paris-Est Créteil and Paris Diderot, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace , CNRS UMR 7583, Créteil, France
- 5 IC2MP, Equipe Eau Géochimie Santé, Université de Poitiers , CNRS UMR 7285, Poitiers, France
| | - S K Atreya
- 6 Department of Climate and Space Sciences, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
| | - P Coll
- 1 LISA, Universités Paris-Est Créteil and Paris Diderot, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace , CNRS UMR 7583, Créteil, France
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14
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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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15
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Westall F, Foucher F, Bost N, Bertrand M, Loizeau D, Vago JL, Kminek G, Gaboyer F, Campbell KA, Bréhéret JG, Gautret P, Cockell CS. Biosignatures on Mars: What, Where, and How? Implications for the Search for Martian Life. ASTROBIOLOGY 2015; 15:998-1029. [PMID: 26575218 PMCID: PMC4653824 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2015.1374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 89] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2015] [Accepted: 10/13/2015] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED The search for traces of life is one of the principal objectives of Mars exploration. Central to this objective is the concept of habitability, the set of conditions that allows the appearance of life and successful establishment of microorganisms in any one location. While environmental conditions may have been conducive to the appearance of life early in martian history, habitable conditions were always heterogeneous on a spatial scale and in a geological time frame. This "punctuated" scenario of habitability would have had important consequences for the evolution of martian life, as well as for the presence and preservation of traces of life at a specific landing site. We hypothesize that, given the lack of long-term, continuous habitability, if martian life developed, it was (and may still be) chemotrophic and anaerobic. Obtaining nutrition from the same kinds of sources as early terrestrial chemotrophic life and living in the same kinds of environments, the fossilized traces of the latter serve as useful proxies for understanding the potential distribution of martian chemotrophs and their fossilized traces. Thus, comparison with analog, anaerobic, volcanic terrestrial environments (Early Archean >3.5-3.33 Ga) shows that the fossil remains of chemotrophs in such environments were common, although sparsely distributed, except in the vicinity of hydrothermal activity where nutrients were readily available. Moreover, the traces of these kinds of microorganisms can be well preserved, provided that they are rapidly mineralized and that the sediments in which they occur are rapidly cemented. We evaluate the biogenicity of these signatures by comparing them to possible abiotic features. Finally, we discuss the implications of different scenarios for life on Mars for detection by in situ exploration, ranging from its non-appearance, through preserved traces of life, to the presence of living microorganisms. KEY WORDS Mars-Early Earth-Anaerobic chemotrophs-Biosignatures-Astrobiology missions to Mars.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frances Westall
- CNRS-OSUC-Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire, CS80054, Orléans, France
| | - Frédéric Foucher
- CNRS-OSUC-Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire, CS80054, Orléans, France
| | - Nicolas Bost
- CNRS-Conditions Extrêmes et Matériaux: Haute Température et Irradiation, CS90055, Orléans, France
| | - Marylène Bertrand
- CNRS-OSUC-Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire, CS80054, Orléans, France
| | | | | | | | - Frédéric Gaboyer
- CNRS-OSUC-Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire, CS80054, Orléans, France
| | | | - Jean-Gabriel Bréhéret
- GéoHydrosytèmes Continentaux, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université François-Rabelais de Tours, Tours, France
| | - Pascale Gautret
- CNRS-OSUC-Institut des Sciences de la Terre d'Orléans, Orléans, France
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16
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Volcanogenic fluvial-lacustrine environments in iceland and their utility for identifying past habitability on Mars. Life (Basel) 2015; 5:568-86. [PMID: 25692905 PMCID: PMC4390869 DOI: 10.3390/life5010568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2014] [Revised: 09/24/2014] [Accepted: 02/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The search for once-habitable locations on Mars is increasingly focused on environments dominated by fluvial and lacustrine processes, such as those investigated by the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover. The availability of liquid water coupled with the potential longevity of such systems renders these localities prime targets for the future exploration of Martian biosignatures. Fluvial-lacustrine environments associated with basaltic volcanism are highly relevant to Mars, but their terrestrial counterparts have been largely overlooked as a field analogue. Such environments are common in Iceland, where basaltic volcanism interacts with glacial ice and surface snow to produce large volumes of meltwater within an otherwise cold and dry environment. This meltwater can be stored to create subglacial, englacial, and proglacial lakes, or be released as catastrophic floods and proglacial fluvial systems. Sedimentary deposits produced by the resulting fluvial-lacustrine activity are extensive, with lithologies dominated by basaltic minerals, low-temperature alteration assemblages (e.g., smectite clays, calcite), and amorphous, poorly crystalline phases (basaltic glass, palagonite, nanophase iron oxides). This paper reviews examples of these environments, including their sedimentary deposits and microbiology, within the context of utilising these localities for future Mars analogue studies and instrument testing.
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17
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Rummel JD, Beaty DW, Jones MA, Bakermans C, Barlow NG, Boston PJ, Chevrier VF, Clark BC, de Vera JPP, Gough RV, Hallsworth JE, Head JW, Hipkin VJ, Kieft TL, McEwen AS, Mellon MT, Mikucki JA, Nicholson WL, Omelon CR, Peterson R, Roden EE, Sherwood Lollar B, Tanaka KL, Viola D, Wray JJ. A new analysis of Mars "Special Regions": findings of the second MEPAG Special Regions Science Analysis Group (SR-SAG2). ASTROBIOLOGY 2014; 14:887-968. [PMID: 25401393 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2014.1227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 148] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
A committee of the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) has reviewed and updated the description of Special Regions on Mars as places where terrestrial organisms might replicate (per the COSPAR Planetary Protection Policy). This review and update was conducted by an international team (SR-SAG2) drawn from both the biological science and Mars exploration communities, focused on understanding when and where Special Regions could occur. The study applied recently available data about martian environments and about terrestrial organisms, building on a previous analysis of Mars Special Regions (2006) undertaken by a similar team. Since then, a new body of highly relevant information has been generated from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (launched in 2005) and Phoenix (2007) and data from Mars Express and the twin Mars Exploration Rovers (all 2003). Results have also been gleaned from the Mars Science Laboratory (launched in 2011). In addition to Mars data, there is a considerable body of new data regarding the known environmental limits to life on Earth-including the potential for terrestrial microbial life to survive and replicate under martian environmental conditions. The SR-SAG2 analysis has included an examination of new Mars models relevant to natural environmental variation in water activity and temperature; a review and reconsideration of the current parameters used to define Special Regions; and updated maps and descriptions of the martian environments recommended for treatment as "Uncertain" or "Special" as natural features or those potentially formed by the influence of future landed spacecraft. Significant changes in our knowledge of the capabilities of terrestrial organisms and the existence of possibly habitable martian environments have led to a new appreciation of where Mars Special Regions may be identified and protected. The SR-SAG also considered the impact of Special Regions on potential future human missions to Mars, both as locations of potential resources and as places that should not be inadvertently contaminated by human activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- John D Rummel
- 1 Department of Biology, East Carolina University , Greenville, North Carolina, USA
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18
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Chatzitheodoridis E, Haigh S, Lyon I. A conspicuous clay ovoid in Nakhla: evidence for subsurface hydrothermal alteration on Mars with implications for astrobiology. ASTROBIOLOGY 2014; 14:651-693. [PMID: 25046549 PMCID: PMC4126275 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2013.1069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2013] [Accepted: 05/19/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Abstract A conspicuous biomorphic ovoid structure has been discovered in the Nakhla martian meteorite, made of nanocrystalline iron-rich saponitic clay and amorphous material. The ovoid is indigenous to Nakhla and occurs within a late-formed amorphous mesostasis region of rhyolitic composition that is interstitial to two clinopyroxene grains with Al-rich rims, and contains acicular apatite crystals, olivine, sulfides, Ti-rich magnetite, and a new mineral of the rhoenite group. To infer the origin of the ovoid, a large set of analytical tools was employed, including scanning electron microscopy and backscattered electron imaging, wavelength-dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray mapping, Raman spectroscopy, time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis, high-resolution transmission electron microscope imaging, and atomic force microscope topographic mapping. The concentric wall of the ovoid surrounds an originally hollow volume and exhibits internal layering of contrasting nanotextures but uniform chemical composition, and likely inherited its overall shape from a preexisting vesicle in the mesostasis glass. A final fibrous layer of Fe-rich phases blankets the interior surfaces of the ovoid wall structure. There is evidence that the parent rock of Nakhla has undergone a shock event from a nearby bolide impact that melted the rims of pyroxene and the interstitial matter and initiated an igneous hydrothermal system of rapidly cooling fluids, which were progressively mixed with fluids from the melted permafrost. Sharp temperature gradients were responsible for the crystallization of Al-rich clinopyroxene rims, rhoenite, acicular apatites, and the quenching of the mesostasis glass and the vesicle. During the formation of the ovoid structure, episodic fluid infiltration events resulted in the precipitation of saponite rinds around the vesicle walls, altered pyrrhotite to marcasite, and then isolated the ovoid wall structure from the rest of the system by depositing a layer of iron oxides/hydroxides. Carbonates, halite, and sulfates were deposited last within interstitial spaces and along fractures. Among three plausible competing hypotheses here, this particular abiotic scenario is considered to be the most reasonable explanation for the formation of the ovoid structure in Nakhla, and although compelling evidence for a biotic origin is lacking, it is evident that the martian subsurface contains niche environments where life could develop.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elias Chatzitheodoridis
- Department of Geological Sciences, School of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Sarah Haigh
- School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Ian Lyon
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
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19
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Sephton MA, Carter JN. Statistics provide guidance for indigenous organic carbon detection on Mars missions. ASTROBIOLOGY 2014; 14:706-713. [PMID: 25061905 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2014.1161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Data from the Viking and Mars Science Laboratory missions indicate the presence of organic compounds that are not definitively martian in origin. Both contamination and confounding mineralogies have been suggested as alternatives to indigenous organic carbon. Intuitive thought suggests that we are repeatedly obtaining data that confirms the same level of uncertainty. Bayesian statistics may suggest otherwise. If an organic detection method has a true positive to false positive ratio greater than one, then repeated organic matter detection progressively increases the probability of indigeneity. Bayesian statistics also reveal that methods with higher ratios of true positives to false positives give higher overall probabilities and that detection of organic matter in a sample with a higher prior probability of indigenous organic carbon produces greater confidence. Bayesian statistics, therefore, provide guidance for the planning and operation of organic carbon detection activities on Mars. Suggestions for future organic carbon detection missions and instruments are as follows: (i) On Earth, instruments should be tested with analog samples of known organic content to determine their true positive to false positive ratios. (ii) On the mission, for an instrument with a true positive to false positive ratio above one, it should be recognized that each positive detection of organic carbon will result in a progressive increase in the probability of indigenous organic carbon being present; repeated measurements, therefore, can overcome some of the deficiencies of a less-than-definitive test. (iii) For a fixed number of analyses, the highest true positive to false positive ratio method or instrument will provide the greatest probability that indigenous organic carbon is present. (iv) On Mars, analyses should concentrate on samples with highest prior probability of indigenous organic carbon; intuitive desires to contrast samples of high prior probability and low prior probability of indigenous organic carbon should be resisted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A Sephton
- Impacts and Astromaterials Research Centre , Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
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20
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Meslin PY, Gasnault O, Forni O, Schröder S, Cousin A, Berger G, Clegg SM, Lasue J, Maurice S, Sautter V, Le Mouélic S, Wiens RC, Fabre C, Goetz W, Bish D, Mangold N, Ehlmann B, Lanza N, Harri AM, Anderson R, Rampe E, McConnochie TH, Pinet P, Blaney D, Léveillé R, Archer D, Barraclough B, Bender S, Blake D, Blank JG, Bridges N, Clark BC, DeFlores L, Delapp D, Dromart G, Dyar MD, Fisk M, Gondet B, Grotzinger J, Herkenhoff K, Johnson J, Lacour JL, Langevin Y, Leshin L, Lewin E, Madsen MB, Melikechi N, Mezzacappa A, Mischna MA, Moores JE, Newsom H, Ollila A, Perez R, Renno N, Sirven JB, Tokar R, de la Torre M, d'Uston L, Vaniman D, Yingst A. Soil diversity and hydration as observed by ChemCam at Gale crater, Mars. Science 2013; 341:1238670. [PMID: 24072924 DOI: 10.1126/science.1238670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 190] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
The ChemCam instrument, which provides insight into martian soil chemistry at the submillimeter scale, identified two principal soil types along the Curiosity rover traverse: a fine-grained mafic type and a locally derived, coarse-grained felsic type. The mafic soil component is representative of widespread martian soils and is similar in composition to the martian dust. It possesses a ubiquitous hydrogen signature in ChemCam spectra, corresponding to the hydration of the amorphous phases found in the soil by the CheMin instrument. This hydration likely accounts for an important fraction of the global hydration of the surface seen by previous orbital measurements. ChemCam analyses did not reveal any significant exchange of water vapor between the regolith and the atmosphere. These observations provide constraints on the nature of the amorphous phases and their hydration.
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Affiliation(s)
- P-Y Meslin
- Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, IRAP, 31028 Toulouse, France.
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Ehlmann BL, Bish DL, Ruff SW, Mustard JF. Mineralogy and chemistry of altered Icelandic basalts: Application to clay mineral detection and understanding aqueous environments on Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/2012je004156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Ody A, Poulet F, Langevin Y, Bibring JP, Bellucci G, Altieri F, Gondet B, Vincendon M, Carter J, Manaud N. Global maps of anhydrous minerals at the surface of Mars from OMEGA/MEx. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012. [DOI: 10.1029/2012je004117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Noblet A, Stalport F, Guan YY, Poch O, Coll P, Szopa C, Cloix M, Macari F, Raulin F, Chaput D, Cottin H. The PROCESS experiment: amino and carboxylic acids under Mars-like surface UV radiation conditions in low-earth orbit. ASTROBIOLOGY 2012; 12:436-444. [PMID: 22680690 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2011.0756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The search for organic molecules at the surface of Mars is a top priority of the next Mars exploration space missions: Mars Science Laboratory (NASA) and ExoMars (ESA). The detection of organic matter could provide information about the presence of a prebiotic chemistry or even biological activity on this planet. Therefore, a key step in interpretation of future data collected by these missions is to understand the preservation of organic matter in the martian environment. Several laboratory experiments have been devoted to quantifying and qualifying the evolution of organic molecules under simulated environmental conditions of Mars. However, these laboratory simulations are limited, and one major constraint is the reproduction of the UV spectrum that reaches the surface of Mars. As part of the PROCESS experiment of the European EXPOSE-E mission on board the International Space Station, a study was performed on the photodegradation of organics under filtered extraterrestrial solar electromagnetic radiation that mimics Mars-like surface UV radiation conditions. Glycine, serine, phthalic acid, phthalic acid in the presence of a mineral phase, and mellitic acid were exposed to these conditions for 1.5 years, and their evolution was determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy after their retrieval. The results were compared with data from laboratory experiments. A 1.5-year exposure to Mars-like surface UV radiation conditions in space resulted in complete degradation of the organic compounds. Half-lives between 50 and 150 h for martian surface conditions were calculated from both laboratory and low-Earth orbit experiments. The results highlight that none of those organics are stable under low-Earth orbit solar UV radiation conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Audrey Noblet
- Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA), UMR CNRS 7583, Université Paris Est Créteil et Université Paris Diderot, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, Créteil, France
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Abstract
Clay minerals, recently discovered to be widespread in Mars's Noachian terrains, indicate long-duration interaction between water and rock over 3.7 billion years ago. Analysis of how they formed should indicate what environmental conditions prevailed on early Mars. If clays formed near the surface by weathering, as is common on Earth, their presence would indicate past surface conditions warmer and wetter than at present. However, available data instead indicate substantial Martian clay formation by hydrothermal groundwater circulation and a Noachian rock record dominated by evidence of subsurface waters. Cold, arid conditions with only transient surface water may have characterized Mars's surface for over 4 billion years, since the early-Noachian period, and the longest-duration aqueous, potentially habitable environments may have been in the subsurface.
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Cooke M, Islam F, McGill G. Basement controls on the scale of giant polygons in Utopia Planitia, Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1029/2011je003812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Andrews-Hanna JC, Lewis KW. Early Mars hydrology: 2. Hydrological evolution in the Noachian and Hesperian epochs. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1029/2010je003709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Story S, Bowen BB, Benison KC, Schulze DG. Authigenic phyllosilicates in modern acid saline lake sediments and implications for Mars. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1029/2010je003687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Fairén AG, Davila AF, Lim D, Bramall N, Bonaccorsi R, Zavaleta J, Uceda ER, Stoker C, Wierzchos J, Dohm JM, Amils R, Andersen D, McKay CP. Astrobiology through the ages of Mars: the study of terrestrial analogues to understand the habitability of Mars. ASTROBIOLOGY 2010; 10:821-843. [PMID: 21087162 DOI: 10.1089/ast.2009.0440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Mars has undergone three main climatic stages throughout its geological history, beginning with a water-rich epoch, followed by a cold and semi-arid era, and transitioning into present-day arid and very cold desert conditions. These global climatic eras also represent three different stages of planetary habitability: an early, potentially habitable stage when the basic requisites for life as we know it were present (liquid water and energy); an intermediate extreme stage, when liquid solutions became scarce or very challenging for life; and the most recent stage during which conditions on the surface have been largely uninhabitable, except perhaps in some isolated niches. Our understanding of the evolution of Mars is now sufficient to assign specific terrestrial environments to each of these periods. Through the study of Mars terrestrial analogues, we have assessed and constrained the habitability conditions for each of these stages, the geochemistry of the surface, and the likelihood for the preservation of organic and inorganic biosignatures. The study of these analog environments provides important information to better understand past and current mission results as well as to support the design and selection of instruments and the planning for future exploratory missions to Mars.
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