2006 Annual Science Report
Astrobiology Roadmap Objective 2.1 Reports Reporting | JUL 2005 – JUN 2006
Roadmap Objective 2.1—Mars exploration
Project Reports
-
Planetary Biology, Evolution, and Intelligence
Chris Chyba, Cynthia Phillips, Kevin Hand- The project has two components. The first, an overview of the astrobiological potential of various geological features on Europa, is proceeding well — we are continuing the study of various proposed formation mechanisms for different feature types such as ridges, bands, and chaotic terrain.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 2.1 2.2 3.1 3.2 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 6.2 7.1 -
Project 6. Molecular and Isotopic Biosignatures
Co-Investigator Steele and Postdoctoral Fellow Marc Fries used the new WiTec Raman imaging system to begin the examination of in situ carbon formation in a variety of samples, including Precambrian rocks and samples from a Mars analog site in Svalbard.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 3.1 4.1 4.2 5.3 6.1 6.2 7.1 7.2 -
Project 1. From Molecular Clouds to Habitable Planetary Systems
The work this year of Co-Investigator Chambers involved the development of a model for the oligarchic growth stage of planet formation, a key stage that determines many of the final characteristics of a planetary system
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 2.1 3.1 7.2 -
Climate, Habitability, and the Atmosphere on Early Mars
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 2.1 4.1 7.1 -
Biosignatures in Chemosynthetic and Photosynthetic Systems
During the past year, our team has made strong contributions in research, mission involvement, synergistic community activities, and education & public outreach.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 4.1 5.1 5.2 6.1 7.1 7.2 -
The Impact of Atmospheric Particles on Life
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 2.2 3.1 4.3 -
Design and Assembly of a Cavity-Ring Down Spectrometer for Determination of Concentration and Isotopic Composition of Methane in Gases
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 3.2 3.3 4.1 5.2 5.3 6.2 7.1 7.2 -
Project 2. Extraterrestrial Materials: Origin and Evolution of Organic Matter and Water in the Solar System
The abundant organic compounds in primitive meteorites and interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) are thought to originate largely in the interstellar medium. However, this material may have been modified in the protoplanetary disk and has been modified to varying extents in the asteroidal parent bodies.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 3.1 -
Examination of the Microbial Diversity Found in Ice Cores (Brenchley)
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 6.2 -
Adaptation to Salinity in Microbial Communities
Lake Tyrrell, Australia, has been identified as a site with considerable potential as a Mars analog (Benison and Laclair, Astrobiology, 2003). This periodically dry, pink, hypersaline lake (Figure 1) is located in northwestern Victoria, Australia
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 4.1 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 -
The Astrophysical Environment and Planetary and Lunar Habitability
We worked to characterize the intermittent aspects of stellar radiation fields, namely flares and stellar cosmic rays, and their effects on biosignature detection, habitability, and space exploration.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 4.3 6.1 6.2 -
Microbial and Biogeochemical Characterization of Terrestrial Analogue Sites for Life in the Subsurface of Mars.
Onstott and McGown collected ground water from boreholes intersection fractures at depths of 890 and 1100 meters below the surface at the Lupin gold mine, Nunavat Territories March 2005 using 0.2 μm borosilicate filters and 0.2 μm hollow-fiber filters and running the borehole water through these filters for 2-3 day
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 2.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 6.2 7.1 -
Earthbound Microbial and Geological Robotic Based Observations for Mars
After experimenting with robot modules (developed in the previous reporting period), the University of Pennsylvania team has developed new modules better suited to the terrain microbiologists and geologists traversed at the Box Canyon Idaho 2004 field trip. Primarily this involves adding rotational leg modules which allow the traversal of larger obstacles while still allowing access to cluttered environments such as between rocks or weeds
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 2.2 5.1 5.3 -
Origins and Signatures of Biogenic Hydrocarbons – Controls on the Transition From Abiogenic Geochemistry to Biotic Systems in the Deep Subsurface and Identification of Signature for Life
Studies of deep subsurface, ecosystems hosted by ancient groundwater are directly relevant to the exploration for extant life in the subsurface of Mars. Laboratory investigations focus on determining the types of prebiotic compounds that form in the subsurface and assessing whether life itself could have been spawned beneath a planet’s surface. Field investigations focus on deep subsurface groundwater sampled at commercial mines in South African and Canadian Archaean rocks.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 3.1 4.1 4.2 6.1 7.1 7.2 -
The History of Evolution of Surface Water on Mars
Our original premise was that the channels on Mars identified as formed by seepage would be excellent sites to explore for signs of life because of the combined effects of sustained water (to cause erosion) and the subsurface nature of the flow (away from harmful UV radiation).
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 -
Recognition of Theoretical Environments on Mars
Our focus over the past year was a) to investigate the use of visible-near infrared spectroscopy of Rio Tinto to develop tools for recognizing habitable environments and b) investigating Mars data sets for habitable environment
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 -
Habitable Planets
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 2.1 4.1 4.3 -
Project 7. Astrobiotechnology
Co-Investigator Steele and colleagues have continued to develop the Modular Assays for Solar System Exploration (MASSE) concept, which uses microfluidic technology to incubate a DNA or protein microarray.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 2.2 3.1 3.2 4.2 5.3 6.2 7.1 -
Relationship Between Hydrogeology and Microbiology at Active Springs
We are currently investigating a sulfur spring system in a zone of high deformation in the central coast range of California. This system presents opportunities to study multiple, sustained groundwater discharge sites with environmental gradients affecting extant microbial communities.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 4.2 5.2 7.1 -
Keck Cosmochemistry Laboratory
The W. M. Keck Cosmochemistry laboratory will soon begin analysis of extraterrestrial samples, including sample of interest to astrobiology. At its heart is a Cameca ims 1280 ion microprobe. This state-of-the-art instrument uses a focused ion beam to sputter and ionize atoms from sample surfaces. The sputtered ions are then extracted into a mass spectrometer and measured. The 1280 can measure isotopic compositions of most elements, with better precision and accuracy than previous ion probes.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 3.1 3.2 -
Isotopic Fingerprints of Past Life and Surface Conditions on Mars
We have advanced the research on five fronts. (1) Our work in collaboration with the Dietrich group reached fruition as high-quality He-3 exposure ages were determined for the Box Canyon basalts of south central Idaho.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 7.1 -
Evolution of Atmospheric O2, Climate, and Biosphere (Ohmoto)
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 4.1 4.3 5.1 5.2 6.1 7.1 -
Exploring Conditions for Habitability in Our Solar System
Subsurface Habitability on Mars: Armstrong and Sondossi (2005) are exploring the stability of deep subsurface environments (3-6 km) on Mars. Thermal diffusion models indicate that temperature fluctuations at these depths are minor, and provide reasonable environments for sub-surface life, perhaps probed by the recent detection of methane in Mars’ atmosphere.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 2.2 4.1 6.2 7.1 -
Evaluation of Habitable Environments on Mars
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 -
Development of Laser Ablation Resonance Ionization Mass Spectrometer for Planetary Missions
This project seeks to miniaturize and shock-harden an electrospray ionization rotating field mass spectrometer (ESI-RFMS) for high precision measurements of aqueous geochemistry on Mars (Fig. 1).
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 6.1 7.2 -
Searching for Life on Mars: Interpretation of Remote-Sensing Observations of Methane
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 7.1 -
Development of Rotating Field Mass Spectroscopy for Planetary Missions
This project seeks to miniaturize and shock-harden an electrospray ionization rotating field mass spectrometer (ESI-RFMS) for high precision measurements of aqueous geochemistry on Mars (Fig. 1). It has the strengths of being small, low power, low mass and requires no precision machining.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 7.2 -
Summary of Activities in the Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory
Dworkin has been active in the lab section of the GCA Astrobiology Team by operating the Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory and collaborating with numerous other laboratories. This involves the creation and maintenance of a world-class organic analytical laboratory. In the last year he developed the methodology for the detection of chiral amino acids at the femtomole level in a variety of laboratory and natural samples.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 2.2 3.1 7.1 -
Iceland Subglacial Biology Exploration (ISBOX)
Subglacial lakes are the focus of studies of life in extreme environments because they may resemble habitats on Mars and icy satellites in the outer solar system. ISBOX II succeeded in drilling through 300 meters of glacial ice to sample a subglacial lake beneath the Vatnajökull glacier in Iceland, in June 2006.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 2.2 5.3 6.2 7.1 -
TES and THEMIS Study of Proposed Paleolake Basins Within the Aeolis Quadrangle of Mars
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 -
TES/THEMIS Study of Valles Marineris, Mars
Weitz et al. (2003) identified dunes, landslide materials and a blocky deposit in the floor (Fig. 1) of the Melas Chasma within Valles Marineris, as well as a large number of valleys along the southern wallrock of the chasma.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 -
Mars Surface Activity
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 -
Ice in Sublimation Environments
Last year’s work resulted in a paper by Schorghofer (2005) about ground ice in Beacon Valley, Antarctica. Another study by Schorghofer and Edgett (2006), on observations of seasonal ice at low latitudes on Mars, meanwhile made the journal’s hotlist of most downloaded articles. Since completion this work, also briefly summarized in last year’s project progress report, we have carried out the following investigations.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1