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We report on the survivability in hypervelocity impacts of yeast in spore form, and as mature cultures, at impact velocities from 1 to 7.4kms −1 , corresponding to an estimated peak shock pressure of ∼43GPa. Spores from a yeast strain (BY4743), deficient in an enzyme required for uracil production, were fired into water (to simulate oceanic impact from space) using a light gas gun. The water...
Is Mars actively releasing organic and other minor gases into the atmosphere? We present a comprehensive search for trace species on Mars, targeting multiple volatile organic species (CH 4 , CH 3 OH, H 2 CO, C 2 H 6 , C 2 H 2 , C 2 H 4 ), hydroperoxyl (HO 2 ), several nitrogen compounds (N 2 O, NH 3 , HCN),...
It has been repeatedly proposed to expand the scope for SETI, and one of the suggested alternatives to radio is the biological media. Genomic DNA is already used on Earth to store non-biological information. Though smaller in capacity, but stronger in noise immunity is the genetic code. The code is a flexible mapping between codons and amino acids, and this flexibility allows modifying the code artificially...
This study explores the possible applications of a spring complex, East German Creek (EGC), Manitoba, Canada, as a terrestrial analogue for similar environments on Mars. Potential ancient spring deposits have been identified by Allen and Oehler (Allen, C.C., Oehler, D.Z. [2008]. Astrobiology 8, 1093–1112) in Vernal Crater, Arabia Terra, as well as in the intercrater plains of Terra Sirenum by Wray...
In recent years evidence for spring deposits on Mars has been mounting. It seems increasingly likely that groundwater upwelling and surfacing as springs may be responsible for some mineral deposits on Mars’ surface. In order to more easily detect and better understand potential spring deposits on Mars, it is pertinent that we gain a better understanding of the distribution of minerals at cold spring...
Surficial deposits of the OH-bearing iron sulfate mineral jarosite have been observed in several places on Mars, such as Meridiani Planum and Mawrth Vallis. The specific depositional conditions and mechanisms are not known, but by comparing martian sites to analogous locations on Earth, the conditions of formation and, thus, the martian depositional paleoenvironments may be postulated. Located in...
The restrictions imposed by instrumentation and some methodological constraints make that only volatile organic compounds have been analyzed by in situ instruments in planetary exploration. It has been argued that polycarboxilic acids like the hexacarboxylic acid (mellitic acid) can be produced and accumulated in the martian regolith from the oxidation of meteoritic organic matter. However, these...
Stromatolites are readily identified, outcrop scale indicators of potential biological activity, even though constructed by microbes. Their presence in −J.5Ga volcano-sedimentary successions of the Pilbara region of Western Australia suggests that they might also occur in similar, Noachian-agc successions On Mars. Field and basic laboratory studies of one such occurrence near Nullagine highlight many...
The recent reports of methane in the atmosphere of Mars, as well as the findings of hypersaline paleoenvironments on that planet, have underscored the need to evaluate the importance of biological (as opposed to geological) trace gas production and consumption, particularly in hypersaline environments. Methane in the atmosphere of Mars may be an indication of extant life, but it may also be a consequence...
The presence of aqueously altered, olivine-rich rocks along with carbonate on Mars suggest that serpentinization may have occurred in the past and may be occurring presently in the subsurface, and possibly contributing methane (CH 4 ) to the martian atmosphere. Serpentinization, the hydration of olivine in ultramafic rocks, yields ultra-basic fluids (pH⩾10) with unique chemistry (i.e. Ca ...
It has long been suggested that hydrothermal systems might have provided habitats for the origin and evolution of early life on Earth, and possibly other planets such as Mars. In this contribution we show that most impact events that result in the formation of complex impact craters (i.e., >2–4 and >5–10km diameter on Earth and Mars, respectively) are potentially capable of generating a hydrothermal...
The results of the Mars Phoenix Lander’s Wet Chemistry Laboratory (WCL) for the analyses of the soluble ionic species present in the soil at the northern polar plains of Mars are compared to soil from the Antarctic Dry Valleys (ADVs), martian meteorite EETA79001 sawdust, and a Mars simulant. The ADV soil was compared to the Phoenix site by averaging the samples at analogous 0–5cm depths and also all...
The interaction between electromagnetic radiation and bio-molecules in heterogeneous environments is a prebiotically relevant process. Minerals may have a pivotal role in the prebiotic evolution of complex chemical systems, mediating the effects of electromagnetic radiation, influencing the photostability of bio-molecules, catalyzing important chemical reactions and/or protecting molecules against...
Impact-generated hydrothermal systems have been previously linked to the alteration of Mars’ crust and the production of secondary mineral assemblages seen from orbit. The sensitivity of the resultant assemblages has not yet been evaluated as a function of precursor primary rock compositions. In this work, we use thermochemical modeling to explore the variety of minerals that could be produced by...
Galactic cosmic rays are a potential energy source to stimulate organic synthesis from simple ices. The recent detection of organic molecules at the polar regions of the Moon by LCROSS (Colaprete, A. et al. [2010]. Science 330, 463–468, http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1186986), and possibly at the poles of Mercury (Paige, D.A. et al. [2013]. Science 339, 300–303, http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science...
Aromatic hydrocarbons account for a significant portion of the organic matter in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, as a component of both the low molecular weight, solvent-extractable compounds and the insoluble organic macromolecular material. Previous work has suggested that the aromatic compounds in carbonaceous chondrites may have originated in the radiation-processed icy mantles of interstellar...
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