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2012 Annual Science Report

Astrobiology Roadmap Objective 4.3 Reports Reporting  |  SEP 2011 – AUG 2012

Project Reports

  • Cosmic Distribution of Chemical Complexity

    The three tasks of this project explore the connections between chemistry in space and the origin of life. We start by tracking the formation and evolution of chemical complexity in space, from simple carbon-rich molecules such as formaldehyde and acetylene to complex species including amino acids, nucleic acids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The work focuses on carbon-rich species that are interesting from a biogenic perspective and on understanding their possible roles in the origin of life on habitable worlds. We do this by measuring the spectra and chemistry of analog materials in the laboratory, by remote sensing with small spacecraft, and by analysis of extraterrestrial samples returned by spacecraft or that fall to Earth as meteorites. We then use these results to interpret astronomical observations made with ground-based and orbiting telescopes.

    ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 2.2 3.1 3.2 3.4 4.3 7.1 7.2
  • Biosignatures in Ancient Rocks

    The Biosignatures in Ancient Rocks group investigates the co-evolution of life and environment on early Earth using a combination of geological field work, geochemical analysis, genomics, and numerical simulation.

    ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 3.2 4.1 4.2 4.3 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 6.2 7.1 7.2
  • Disks and the Origins of Planetary Systems

    This task is concerned with the formation and evolution of complex habitable environments. The planet formation process begins with fragmentation of large molecular clouds into flattened disks. This disk is, in many ways, an astrochemical “primeval soup” in which cosmically abundant elements are assembled into increasingly complex organic compounds and mixed in the dust and gas within the disk. Gravitational attraction among the myriad small bodies leads to planet formation. If the newly formed planet is a distance from its star that is suitable to support liquid water at the surface, it is in the so-called “habitable zone” (HZ). The formation process and identification of such life-supporting bodies is the goal of this project.

    ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 2.1 4.3
  • Delivery of Volatiles to Terrestrial Planets

    We are investigating the mechanisms by which terrestrial planets obtain water and organic compounds. By understanding how these crucial constituents for life came to Earth, we can determine whether these mechanisms also operate in exoplanetary systems. When an earth-like planet is finally discovered in an exoplanetary system, it will be difficult to directly measure the composition of that planet. However, VPL scientists will use the observable properties of the system to determine whether that planet has a history that allowed water and organics to have been transported to it. One of the important questions is the initial state of the organic compounds, which sets stringent limits on the ability of the earth-like planets to acquire carbon.

    ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 3.1 4.1 4.3
  • Biosignatures in Extraterrestrial Settings

    Exploring the prospects for biosignatures in extraterrestrial settings is a multi

    ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 2.1 2.2 3.1 4.1 4.3 6.2 7.1 7.2
  • Project 3: Impact History of the Earth-Moon System

    The influx of interplanetary debris onto the early Earth represents a major hazard to the emergence of life. Large crater-forming bodies must have been common in the early solar system, as craters are seen on all ancient solid surfaces from Mercury to the moons of the outer planets. Impact craters are few in number on the Earth today only because geologic activity and erosion gradually erase them. The Earth’s nearest neighbor, the Moon, lacks an atmosphere and significant tectonic activity, and therefore retains a record of past impacts. The goal of our research is to reconstruct the bombardment history of the Moon, and by proxy the Earth, to establish when the flux of sterilizing impacts declined sufficiently for the Earth to became habitable.

    ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.3
  • Biosignatures in Relevant Microbial Ecosystems

    PSARC is investigating microbial life in some of Earth’s most mission-relevant modern ecosystems. These environments include the extremely salty Dead Sea, the impact-fractured crust of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure, methane seeps on the ocean floor, deep ice in the Greenland ice sheet, and oxygen-free waters including deep subsurface groundwater. We target environments that, when studied, provide fundamental information that can serve as the basis for future solar system exploration. Combining our expertise in molecular biology, geochemistry, microbiology, and metagenomics, and in collaboration with some of the planet’s most extreme explorers, we are deciphering the microbiology, fossilization processes, and recoverable biosignatures from these mission-relevant environments.

    ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 4.3 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.1 7.2
  • Dynamical Effects on Planetary Habitability

    The Earth’s orbit is near-circular and has changed little since its formation. The Earth is also far enough away from the Sun, that the Sun’s gravity doesn’t seriously affect the Earth’s shape. However, exoplanets have been found to have orbits that are elliptical, rather than circular, and that evolve over time, changing shape and/or moving closer or further to the parent star. Many exoplanets have also been found sufficiently close to the parent star that it can deform the planet’s shape and transfer energy to the planet in a process called tidal heating. In this VPL task we investigate how interactions between a planet’s orbit, spin axis, and tidal heating can influence our understanding of what makes a planet habitable. Scientific highlights include modeling of habitable planets around brown dwarfs, the first comprehensive analysis of exomoon habitability, the role of distant stellar companions on planetary system architecture, and an improved understanding of the origins of terrestrial planet composition.

    ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 3.1 4.3
  • Project 4: Survival of Sugars in Ice/Mineral Mixtures on High Velocity Impact

    Understanding the delivery and preservation of organic molecules in meteoritic material is important to understanding the origin of life on Earth. Though we know that organic molecules are abundant in meteorites, comets, and interplanetary dust particles, few studies have examined how impact processes affect their chemistry and survivability under extreme temperatures and pressures. We are investigating how impact events may change the structure of simple sugars, both alone and when combined with ice mixtures. The experiments will allow us to understand how sugar chemistry is affected by high pressure events and to contrast the survival probabilities of sugars in meteorite and comet impacts. This will lead to a better understanding of how organic molecules are affected during their delivery to Earth. This project leverages expertise in two different NAI nodes, increasing collaborative interaction among NAI investigators.

    ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 3.1 4.1 4.3
  • Project 6: The Environment of the Early Earth

    This project involves the development of capabilities that will allow scientists to obtain information about the conditions on early Earth (3.0 to 4.5 billion years ago) by performing chemical analyzes of crystals (minerals) that have survived since that time. When they grow, minerals incorporate trace concentrations of ions and gaseous molecules from the local environment. We are conducting experiments to calibrate the uptake of these “impurities” that we expect to serve as indicators of temperature, moisture, oxidation state and atmosphere composition. To date, our focus has been mainly on zircon (ZrSiO4), but we have recently turned our attention to quartz as well.

    ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 4.1 4.3
  • Stellar Radiative Effects on Planetary Habitability

    Habitable environments are most likely to exist in close proximity to a star, and hence a detailed and comprehensive understanding of the effect of the star on planetary habitability is crucial in the pursuit of an inhabited world. We looked at how the Sun’s brightness would have changed with time providing wavelength-dependent scaling factors for solar flux anywhere in the solar system from 0.6 to 6.7Gyr. Extrasolar planetary systems can only be determined through studying the host star; therefore we have also worked on determining the ages of Kepler planet host stars. We have constructed far ultraviolet to mid-infrared stellar spectra for 44 stars for being used as input in climate and photochemical models that are applied for determining habitable zones and possible characteristics of habitable planets. We have looked into the effect of methane (CH4) and hydrogen (H2) on the outer edge of the habitable zone for F, G, and M stars. We have studied the effect of host star stellar energy distribution (SED) and ice-albedo feedback on the climate of extrasolar planets.

    ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 2.1 4.1 4.3 7.2
  • Forces Important for Astrobiology: Collisions and Sublimation in the Main Belt

    In the Asteroid Belt, we sometimes observe different varieties of sudden, transient activity. One of these varieties of activity, sublimation tails associated with Main Belt Comets (MBCs), indicates the presence of a new reservoir of water inside the habitable zone, and is a major research subject of UHNAI. Other forms of activity, like collisions, can mimic MBCs. We have been working to develop computational models to distinguish between collisions and comet-like sublimation. In the course of this work, we have performed the first known numerical fit of a past Solar System impact event, demonstrating, from a months old debris trail, that the “comet” P/2010 A2 is really an impact, and constraining the impactor’s direction.

    ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 4.3
  • Measuring Interdisciplinarity Within Astrobiology Research

    To integrate the work of the diverse scientists working on astrobiology, we have harvested and analyzed thousands of astrobiology documents to reveal areas of potential connection. This framework allows us to identify crossover documents that guide scientists quickly across vast interdisciplinary libraries, suggest productive interdisciplinary collaborations, and provide a metric of interdisciplinary science.

    ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 2.1 2.2 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 4.1 4.2 4.3 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 6.2 7.1 7.2