The anatomy of fresh complex craters on the mid‐sized icy moons of Saturn and self‐secondary cratering at the rayed crater Inktomi (Rhea)

2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (11) ◽  
pp. 2440-2460
Author(s):  
Paul Schenk ◽  
Michelle Kirchoff ◽  
Trudi Hoogenboom ◽  
Edgard Rivera‐Valentín
Keyword(s):  
Icy Moons

Description of the Mass Spectrometer for the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer Mission

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina Fohn ◽  
Andre Galli ◽  
Audrey Vorburger ◽  
Marek Tulej ◽  
Davide Lasi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometer ◽  
Icy Moons ◽  
Explorer Mission

scholarly journals A carbonaceous chondrite and cometary origin for icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn

2020 ◽  
Vol 530 ◽  
pp. 115920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrien Néri ◽  
François Guyot ◽  
Bruno Reynard ◽  
Christophe Sotin
Keyword(s):  
Carbonaceous Chondrite ◽  
Icy Moons ◽  
Cometary Origin

Degradation of bacteria mass spectral signals via hydrothermal processing and UV irradiation: relevance to life detection on icy moons

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara Salter ◽  
Hunter Waite ◽  
Mark Sephton
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Gas Chromatography ◽  
Uv Irradiation ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Xenon Lamp ◽  
Hydrothermal Processing ◽  
Mass Spectral ◽  
Icy Moons ◽  
Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Life Detection

<p>The inferred subsurface oceans of the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn, in particular Europa and Enceladus, may contain conditions suitable for life. Plumes of material have been detected from Enceladus and may also be present on Europa. These plumes could contain molecular signs of habitability that could be detected by mass spectrometers on orbiting spacecrafts, such as the upcoming Europa Clipper mission. However, these molecular markers may have degraded between their production and detection, for example by possible hydrothermalism in the subsurface ocean or by UV irradiation once carried into space by the plume. It is important to look at how the biosignatures degrade under different conditions as degradation processes need to be taken into account when analysing the data from life detection missions. We investigate how these two processes affect the mass spectral signals of terrestrial bacteria.</p> <p>Two cyanobacteria samples, <em>Spirulina</em> and <em>Chlorella</em>, were subjected to hydrothermal processing and UV irradiation. Hydrous pyrolysis was used to simulate hydrothermal degradation. Experiments were carried out for 24 or 72 hours at temperatures between 200 and 300 °C. The pyrolyzed contents were subsequently extracted and analysed with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). UV irradiation was carried out in a vacuum chamber (10<sup>-2</sup> mbar), using a 300 W short arc xenon lamp at UV to near infrared wavelengths (~250 – 800 nm). After UV irradiation, samples were analysed using pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS).</p> <p>Our results show that hydrothermal processing of cyanobacteria affects the compound classes in different ways. Carbohydrate and protein components from the cyanobacteria were significantly affected, with phenol and indole derivatives detected. However, some of the biological fingerprint, such as straight-chain even numbered saturated fatty acids from lipid fragments, remain even at the harshest experimental conditions used in our study. This provides confidence that these diagnostic molecules could be used as fingerprints of biological materials on icy moons.</p>

scholarly journals Factoring Origin of Life Hypotheses into the Search for Life in the Solar System and Beyond

Life ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Longo ◽  
Bruce Damer
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Hydrothermal Vents ◽  
Hot Springs ◽  
Planetary Science ◽  
Icy Moons ◽  
Alternative Hypotheses ◽  
Biochemical Mechanisms ◽  
Early Mars ◽  
Life On Earth ◽  
Detection Strategies

Two widely-cited alternative hypotheses propose geological localities and biochemical mechanisms for life’s origins. The first states that chemical energy available in submarine hydrothermal vents supported the formation of organic compounds and initiated primitive metabolic pathways which became incorporated in the earliest cells; the second proposes that protocells self-assembled from exogenous and geothermally-delivered monomers in freshwater hot springs. These alternative hypotheses are relevant to the fossil record of early life on Earth, and can be factored into the search for life elsewhere in the Solar System. This review summarizes the evidence supporting and challenging these hypotheses, and considers their implications for the search for life on various habitable worlds. It will discuss the relative probability that life could have emerged in environments on early Mars, on the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and also the degree to which prebiotic chemistry could have advanced on Titan. These environments will be compared to ancient and modern terrestrial analogs to assess their habitability and biopreservation potential. Origins of life approaches can guide the biosignature detection strategies of the next generation of planetary science missions, which could in turn advance one or both of the leading alternative abiogenesis hypotheses.

scholarly journals The Chemical Inheritance of Icy Moons

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nickolas Oberg ◽  
Inga Kamp ◽  
Stephanie Cazaux
Keyword(s):  
Icy Moons

scholarly journals This Search for Alien Life Starts with Destroying Bacteria on Earth

Eos ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
Author(s):  
JoAnna Wendel
Keyword(s):  
Molecular Fragments ◽  
Extraterrestrial Life ◽  
Icy Moons

Someday, a catalog of molecular fragments might help scientists identify extraterrestrial life on our solar system’s icy moons.

Bright Plains (Icy Moons)

2014 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
J. Brad Dalton ◽  
Henrik Hargitai
Keyword(s):  
Icy Moons

Educational Resources for EPN24 Planetary Field Analogue Sites

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Thompson
Keyword(s):  
Lesson Plan ◽  
Free Access ◽  
Field Site ◽  
Horizon 2020 ◽  
Icy Moons ◽  
Tinto River ◽  
Salt Pans ◽  
Laboratory Facilities ◽  
Subject Areas ◽  
Classroom Lesson

<p>The Europlanet 2024 Research Infrastructure (RI) provides free access to the world’s largest collection of planetary simulation and analysis facilities. The project is funded through the European Commission’s Horizon 2020 programme and runs for four years from February 2020 until January 2024. The Transnational Access (TA) programme supports all travel and local accommodation costs for European and international researchers to visit over 40 laboratory facilities and 6 Planetary Field Analogues (PFA) [1].</p> <p>As part of the education and inspiration tasks associated with Europlanet 2024 RI, we have produced classroom resources aimed at age 10-14 year olds relating the conditions found within the PFA sites to astrobiology and the habitability of Mars.</p> <p>These resources have been produced around all PFA sites:</p> <ul> <li>Rio Tinto River (Spain)</li> <li>Iceland Field Sites (Iceland)</li> <li>Danakil Depression (Ethiopia)</li> <li>Kangerlussuaq Field Site (Greenland)</li> <li>Makgadikgadi Salt Pans (Botswana)</li> <li>Andes (Argentina)</li> </ul> <p>These resources link in with common areas found in worldwide STEM curriculums, such as volcanism, pressure, pH and evaporation. To achieve this, we have filmed lab-based demonstrations and included them in a classroom lesson plan alongside teachers' notes. In addition, each lesson plan focuses on how the conditions of the PFAs could affect the habitability of Mars.</p> <p>An Italian version of the resources has been produced by EduINAF with the addition of brief video-lessons.  English versions were released on a weekly basis from mid-March through April with opportunities for training sessions to support teachers wishing to engage with these resources.</p> <p>Following studies such as Salimpour et al 2020 [2], highlighting the extent to which astronomy has been incorporated into school curriculums, we have chosen to highlight three subject areas with lower representation in high schools into our resources: physics, space exploration and astrobiology.</p> <p>As these analogue sites can be linked to more planetary bodies than just Mars, our next steps are to create similar resources based around the habitability of the icy moons of the Solar System.</p>

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