Interiors of Icy Moons from an Astrobiology Perspective: Deep Oceans and Icy Crusts

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

2021 IEEE Aerospace Conference (50100) ◽

10.1109/aero50100.2021.9438344 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Martina Fohn ◽

Andre Galli ◽

Audrey Vorburger ◽

Marek Tulej ◽

Davide Lasi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometer ◽

Icy Moons ◽

Explorer Mission

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

Earth and Planetary Science Letters ◽

10.1016/j.epsl.2019.115920 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 530 ◽

pp. 115920 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Adrien Néri ◽

François Guyot ◽

Bruno Reynard ◽

Christophe Sotin

Keyword(s):

Carbonaceous Chondrite ◽

Icy Moons ◽

Cometary Origin

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

10.5194/epsc2021-518 ◽

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

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. Two cyanobacteria samples, Spirulina and Chlorella, 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 &#176;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 (10-2 mbar), using a 300 W short arc xenon lamp at UV to near infrared wavelengths (~250 &#8211; 800 nm). After UV irradiation, samples were analysed using pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (Py-GC-MS). 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.

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

Meteoritics and Planetary Science ◽

10.1111/maps.13592 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 55 (11) ◽

pp. 2440-2460

Author(s):

Paul Schenk ◽

Michelle Kirchoff ◽

Trudi Hoogenboom ◽

Edgard Rivera‐Valentín

Keyword(s):

Icy Moons

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

Life ◽

10.3390/life10050052 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 52 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

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.

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