Astrobiology – Research and Missions

Kathleen L. CraftJHU APL, Space Exploration Sector

Astrobiology – Exploring for Habitability and Biosignatures

§ Habitabilityú All the right conditions… for life as we knowú Chemistry, temperature, radiation, source of energy

§ Biosignaturesú Signals that point to evidence that life existed/exists

ú Chemical, morphological, environmental changesú Preservation such that we can detect the signals

now

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Research Tactics

§ Field work

§ Instrument development§ Laboratory analyses§ Missions

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Field Work§ Way to see physics in action

§ Helps to understand other factors that may affect processes and outcomes – applied to models/experiments

§ Collection of samples for later laboratory analyses§ In-situ testing of instrumentation that might later send to

space on lander/flyby mission

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Mars Hydrothermal Sinter

§ Icelandic analogs to sinter sites that have been observed on Mars (e.g. Nili Patera)

§ How well does sinter preserve biosignatures?

§ Collaboration with J.R. Skok (SETI) and Amy Williams (U. Towson)

§ Samples returned

and analyzed for organic fatty acids

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Analyses§ Pyro-Gas Chromatograph Mass

Spectrometry analysis using either:ú A SAM-like heating ramp (35°C/min) or ú An optimized 500°C flash pyrolysis

§ Comparisons between Surface and subsurface as well as along vent profileú Near vent, mid apron, and distal apron

6(Campbell et al., 2015)

3 Sites

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Recent with Fumerole- Gunnuhver Active

Hveravellir

RelictLysuholl

Rockhammer

Results

§ Generally, greater FAME (Fatty Acid Methyl Ester) diversity in Surface (S) vs. Interior (I) samplesú Monounsaturated fatty acids lost at depth – indicative of diagenesisú Odd carbon number saturated FAMEs also not observed at depthú Even carbon number saturated FAMEs were preserved

§ Williams et al. (in review), Optimization of the Recovery of Fatty Acids from Mars Analogs by TMAH Thermochemolysis for the Sample Analysis at Mars Wet Chemistry Experiment on the Curiosity Rover, Astrobiology;

§ Forbes Science, Dec 2017 8

* C6 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C16:1 C17 C18 C18:1 C18:2 C20A1 V,S -- x x x -- x -- x -- -- -- -- x -- -- --A2 V,I x -- x x -- x -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --B1 M,S x x x x x x x x x x -- -- x -- -- --B2 M,I -- x x x -- x -- x -- x -- -- x -- -- --C1 V,S x x x x -- x -- x x x -- -- -- -- -- --C2 V,ID1 D,S -- x x x -- x x x x x -- x x x -- --

D2 D,I -- -- x -- -- x -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

E1 D,S -- x x x -- x x x x x -- -- x -- -- --E2 D,I -- -- -- -- -- x x x x x -- -- x -- -- --F1 V,S x x x x x x x x x x x x x x -- --F2 V,I -- x x x x x x x x x -- x x -- -- --G1 M,S x x -- -- -- -- -- x x x -- x x x -- x

G2 M,I -- -- x x -- x -- x x x x -- x x -- --

H V(?),I -- x x x x x x x x x x x x -- -- --I1 V,S x x -- x -- x -- x x x x x x x x --

I2 V,I x x x x x x x x x x -- -- x -- -- --

*D=distalapron,M=mid-apron,V=nearvent,S=surfacesample,I=interiorSample

Table1. FAMEdetectioninMars-analogIcelandicsinterdeposits.

Site3LysuhollRelict

Site1GunnuhverRecentbut

ceasedspringactivitywithcurrentFumerole

NoFAMEs

Site2HveravellirActivewithhotsprings

Thanks to NASA, American Philosophical Society, SSLNP PSTAR – J.R. Skok, PI

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Yuki Itoh, Dominique Tobler, Mario Parente, Carolina Muñoz, J.R. Skok, Marisol Juarez Rivera, Jack Farmer

Amy Williams

Idaho – Craters of the Moon Nat’l Mon.§ Lava tubes, Mars analogs§ Haven for microbes?§ What lives in terrestrial lava tubes?

ú Mineral deposits – life preserved there? ú Analyses now being performed on fatty acids and other

biosignatures§ Thanks to FINESSE team, Jen Heldmann, GSFC- PI

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Icelandic mud pots

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§ Hot springs mud, Mars analogs

§ What lives in them?

ú Analyses will be performed on

fatty acids and microbiology

§ Thanks to FINESSE team, Jen

Heldmann, GSFC- PI

Instrument Development§ Sample preparation is important for

analyses§ Expect planetary samples to be salty

and contain other “inhibitors” than can confound detection/ characterizations of biosignatures

§ Working to develop a sample preparation technique for separating amino acids from salts

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Microfluidics§ Built on mm to !m scale

§ Small and automated to perform laboratory analyses on chip

Insert Sample

Ethanol wash

Magnet

Amino Acids

Salts

Microfluidics§ Process for DNA/RNA

long-chained polymers

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Ethanol input

Sample (DNA/RNA) + Carboxyl beads

MagnetSample + beadsto downstream processing

Salty solution out

Insert Sample

Ethanol wash

Magnet

Applications

§ Plume fly-throughs

§ Landers/Rovers§ Impactors

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Europa

§ This place is cool!§ Resonance with Jupiter and other moons provides

tidal heat and tidal bulging§ Global ocean ~100 km thick, Ice could be ~ 5-30 km

thick§ More water there than all of the surface water on

Earth16

Motivation§ Ubiquitous features

§ Stretch for 1000s of km§ How did they form? What are the subparallel

fractures along some double ridges?

Ridges

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Flexure – Flanking fractures

§ Dombard et al. (2013) measured distances to flanking fractures

§ Thermomechanical modeling showed that a sizable thermal anomaly needed to achieve flexure

§ A horizontal sill of a few km half-width could supply the needed heat – brings water closer to surface!

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Dombard et al. (2013)

Access to habitable regions?

§ If water is flowing up to shallow areas, can this provide access to habitable regions?

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§ Gives additional importance to understanding:ú How shallow might the sill be?ú How long could it exist as a liquid there? (biosignature

preservation potential?)

~10km Ice

Ocean

d.ridgeflankingfractures

~1-2km

Summary§ Water could be brought to shallow depths in ~ a

10-km thick ice shell through fracturing processes§ Horizontal fracturing and horizontal propagation

appears to be very challenging § Sill lifetime also would present a challenge if

1000s of years are required for ridge flexure formation

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Ice$

~$1'2$km$

Ocean$

d.$ridge$flanking$fractures$

~10$km$

Enceladus

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Porco et al. Science 2006

~10 GW Heat Flow

§ Southern Polar Terrain activity - none observed at northern pole

§ Could this be a recent phenomenon?§ How did the fractures form in this orientation?

South

Spencer et al. Science 2006

Possibly an impact occurred

22Angela Stickle and James Roberts, JHU APL

What happened after?§ Cooling and re-solidification

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150km

1kmthick 5 kmthick

g

H=1to5km

150km

Ocean,ρw

Ice,ρi

Seafloor

0°

180°

90° 270°Baghdad

Damascus

CairoAlexandria

300°

120°

What happened after?§ Cooling and re-solidification§ Tidal forcing§ Where are fractures likely to

form? Where the tiger stripes are?

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150km

1kmthick 5 kmthick

g

H=1to5km

150km

Ocean,ρw

Ice,ρi

Seafloor

0°

180°

90° 270°Baghdad

Damascus

CairoAlexandria

300°

120°

MaxTidalStress

150km~Baghdad

120˚ 300˚

E 1e10Pa!ice 900kg/m3

nu 0.3

MaterialProperties

Tidal Stresses• J. Roberts calculated tidal stress

along 120˚ – 300˚ longitude with theprogram TiRADE (Tidal ResponseAnd Dissipation of Energy) [4]

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Fracture growth• Applied tidal stress as

background load• Crack initiated at

maximum stress location, allowed to propagate

Grant # NNX12AK44G

James Roberts

Ceres, Europa - Cryovolcanism

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40 km deep

10 km thick

Fixed in x

Fixed in y

Fixed in x

150 km

400 km

g

100 km

Pint

y

x

§ Raised morphology and salt deposits observed

§ Pressurized volcanic chamber might drive cryo-lava to the surface

Quick (in review) Icarus; Craft et al. (2018), Cryovolcanism, LPI;

Europa Clipper Mission

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Ensure capability for collecting synergistic data from all instruments (nadir-pointed, ram-pointed) simultaneously and during each flyby

16 m radar HFAntenna (2x)

Forward-pointingin situ instruments Downward-pointing

remote sensing instruments

Radar VHFAntennas (4x)

Magnetometer Boom5 m

Solar Panels

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Europa-UVSUV Spectrograph

surface & plume/atmospherecomposition

SUDA Dust Analyzer

surface & plume

composition

M ASPEXM ass Spectrometersniffing atmospheric

composition

ICEM AG M agnetometersensing ocean

properties

Radiation Science W orking Group

radiation environment

M ISEIR Spectrometersurface chem ical

fingerprints

REASONIce-Penetrating Radarplumbing the ice shell

Gravity Science W orking Group

confirm ing an ocean

In SituRemote Sensing

NASA-Selected

Europa Instruments

PIM SFaraday Cups

plasma environment

E-THEM ISThermal Imager

searching for hot spots

EISNarrow-Angle Camera +

W ide-Angle Camera

mapping alien landscape in

3D & color

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Europa-UVSUV Spectrograph

surface & plume/atmospherecomposition

SUDA Dust Analyzer

surface & plume

composition

M ASPEXM ass Spectrometersniffing atmospheric

composition

ICEM AG M agnetometersensing ocean

properties

Radiation Science W orking Group

radiation environment

M ISEIR Spectrometersurface chem ical

fingerprints

REASONIce-Penetrating Radarplumbing the ice shell

Gravity Science W orking Group

confirm ing an ocean

In SituRemote Sensing

NASA-Selected

Europa Instruments

PIM SFaraday Cups

plasma environment

E-THEM ISThermal Imager

searching for hot spots

EISNarrow-Angle Camera +

W ide-Angle Camera

mapping alien landscape in

3D & color

Europa Lander – Mission Concept

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Launch• SLS Block 1B• Oct. 2025 earliest

Cruise/Jovian Tour• Jupiter orbit insertion Apr 2030• Earliest landing on Europa:

Dec 2031

Deorbit, Decent, Landing• Guided deorbit burn• Sky Crane landing system• 100-m accuracy

Jupiter Arrival(Oct 2029)

Launch(Oct 2025)

Earth Gravity Assist

(Oct 2026)

JupiterOrbit

EarthOrbit

Carrier Relay Orbit• 24 hour period• >10 hours continuous

coverage per orbit• 2.0 Mrad radiation

exposure

Surface Mission• 20+ days• 42.5 kg payload allocation• 5 samples, 7 cc each, >=10 cm

depth• Relay comm through Carrier or

Clipper (backup)• 3–4 Gbit data return• 45 kWh battery• 1.5 Mrad radiation exposure

Goals and Model Payload

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Microscope Context camerasRaman spectrometerGC-MS

GC-MS

Raman spectrometer

Seismic Instrument

Contextcameras

GC-MS

Raman spectrometer

Contextcameras

Microscope

Seismic Instrument

§ Biosignature detection, Habitability & Context

Rescope Enables Reduced Cost

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• 80 cm New Technology Gimballed HGA• DTE/DFE: Prime • Clipper Backup Relay: DDL Comm

• 1.5 Mbit Data volume• Clipper Solar Arrays

§ Direct-to-Earth mission architecture is feasible and significantly reduces complexity

and cost.

ú Eliminates dedicated carrier communication relay spacecraft.

§ Model payload was kept the same as in SDT Report.

§ Searching for biosignatures alleviates burden of life detection and enables operational savings

ú 1 Trench vs. 3; 3 samples required vs. 5; reduced ground in loop

Morgan Cable Cynthia Phillips

Amy Hofmann

Kevin Hand

Summary§ Astrobiology – very interdisciplinary!

It takes people of many backgrounds and expertise.

§ Hands on field and laboratory studies are integral to understanding life and its signatures, how best to detectthem and their preservation

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