Searching for Life Across Space and Time Proceedings of a Workshop (2017) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix D: Poster Abstracts
Appendix D: Poster Abstracts
Pages 99-118
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From page 99... ...
Mixed SCA vesicles are known to be more resistant to the fatal effects of dissolved Mg2+ and Ca2+. Here we examined the potential role of Mg2+ as an environmental selection pressure in the transition of fatty acid membranes to mixed SCA-phospholipid membranes and, finally, to phospholipid membranes.
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From page 100... ...
Thus, the configuration of the adsorbed AMP monomer with respect to the mineral surface and to the neighboring AMP molecule is more important than the total mass of adsorbed monomer for surface-catalyzed polymerization. HABITABLE ENVIRONMENTS IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND EXTRASOLAR PLANETARY SYSTEMS The Icebreaker Life Mission: Why Search for Modern Life on Mars and How to Do It Carol Stoker and C.P.
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From page 101... ...
The Habitable Zone: A Planetary Scientist's Perspective David Paige, UCLA The habitable zone is generally defined as the region around a star that can support liquid water given sufficient pressure. In our own solar system, this region is not limited to a small range of distances from the Sun, but includes a diverse-range of surface, subsurface, and atmospheric environments that extend from Mercury to the outer solar system.
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From page 102... ...
Eigenbrode, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; Sarah Stewart Johnson, Georgetown University; Tori Hoehler, NASA ARC; David Des Marais, NASA ARC; Lindsay Hays, JPL/Caltech; David Beaty, JPL/Caltech; and Victoria E Hamilton, Southwest Research Institute The Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group's (MEPAG's)
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From page 103... ...
Program elements include follow-up observations using the Keck Observatory, which contribute to the science yield of Kepler and K2, and include mid-infrared observations of exo-zodiacal dust by the Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer, which provide parameters critical to the design and predicted science yield of the next generation of direct imaging missions. ExEP includes the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute, which provides archives, tools, and professional education for the exoplanet community.
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From page 104... ...
Here we describe habitats for past and present rock-hosted Mars life and potential biosignatures. Similarly, data for liquid water on modern Mars point to the importance of the subsurface.
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From page 105... ...
The molecules have also been exposed to the stratospheric environment using balloons, to produce a more complete martian analogue environment. Life Detection in Planetary Analog Materials: Applications to the Search for Life in the Solar System Rosalba Bonaccorsi, SETI Institute/NASA ARC; Christopher McKay, NASA ARC; Alfonso Davila, SETI Institute/NASA ARC; and David Willson, Keck Institute of Space Studies/NASA ARC Detection of molecular proxies for life in planetary environments depends on four conditions: (1)
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From page 106... ...
) Planetary Protection Considerations in Distinguishing Extraterrestrial Life from Earthly Contamination John Rummel, SETI Institute While much can be made of the search for in situ biosignatures representing either life as we know it, or life as we don't know it, the spectre of detecting life from Earth when looking for life from (name your favorite extraterrestrial habitat)
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From page 107... ...
In conclusion, nitrogen concentrations may serve as a useful biosignature on other planets. Signs of Life 2002 David Smith, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine In April 2000, the National Academies' Space Studies Board and Board on Life Sciences jointly organized a workshop to discuss a variety of topics, including the following: the search for extraterrestrial life in situ and in the laboratory; extant life and the signature of extinct life; and determination of the point of origin (terrestrial or not)
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From page 108... ...
Workshop Jennifer Eigenbrode, NASA GSFC; Stephanie Getty, NASA GSFC; Tori Hoeler, NASA ARC; John Priscu, Montana State University; Andrew Steele, Carnegie Institution of Science; and the Working Group Chairs of BELOW The aim of BELOW was to evolve our understanding of the detectability of extant life on ocean worlds, such as Europa and Enceladus. The event brought together astrobiologists, biologists, chemists, geologists, oceanographers, and mission and instrument developers to discuss the informational value of different types of biosignatures, the importance of context and the concept of ecology in the search for extant life, and as well as exploration criteria that would support a productive search for extant biology in future missions.
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From page 109... ...
Ehlmann, Caltech; Tori Hoehler, NASA ARC; Tom McCollom, University of Colorado; Joe Michalski, Planetary Science Institute; John Mustard, Brown University; Ken Nealson, USC; Paul Niles, NASA Johnson Space Center; G
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From page 110... ...
Ocean Biomolecule Explorer for Astrobiology Heather Smith, Keck Institute of Space Studies Institute of Practical Robotics; Andrew Duncan, Desert Sensors; and Chris Lloyd, Retego Labs The Ocean Biomolecule Experiments for Astrobiology is a life detection instrument suite designed towards an Ocean Worlds surface mission. The instrument suite relies on the modification of commercial off-the-shelf instruments combined with newly developed biochemical analysis methods to paint a picture of the biological realm on Europa's Ocean World.
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From page 111... ...
The BoldlyGo Institute seeks to conduct privately funded, world-class space science missions that would tangibly accelerate our search for extraterrestrial life, feeding forward scientifically and technologically to future missions. BoldlyGo's initial portfolio includes a Mars robotic dust sample return mission and a UV-visible space telescope for the postHubble era that could host a coronagraph and be paired with a starshade.
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From page 112... ...
As a fluorescent source, 244-Cm is highly desirable in a MapX instrument intended for life detection since high-energy α-particles are unrivaled in fluorescence yield for the low-Z elements. The MapX design as well as baseline performance requirements for a MapX instrument intended for life detection/identification of habitable environments will be presented.
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From page 113... ...
that couples capillary electrophoresis with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (CESI-MS) , in order to enable the characterization of distributions of organic compounds on future in situ planetary missions to ocean worlds.
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From page 114... ...
, LPSC 47, #3035. REMOTE BIOSIGNATURES ExoPAG SAG 16 Report on Remote Biosignatures for Exoplanets Shawn Domagal-Goldman, NASA GSFC; Nancy Kiang, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies; Niki Parenteau, NASA ARC; and SAG 16 Future exoplanet observations will soon focus on the search for life beyond the solar system.
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From page 115... ...
On the Potential Use of Returned Samples from Mars in the Search for Life David Beaty, JPL/Caltech, Hap McSween, University of Tennessee; Andy Czaja, University of Cincinnati; Yulia Goreva, JPL/Caltech; Libby Hausrath, University of Nevada; Lindsay Hays, JPL/Caltech; Chris Herd, University of Alberta; Munir Humayan, Florida State University; Francis McCubbin, NASA Johnson Space Center; Scott McLenna, SUNY at Stony Brook; Lisa Pratt, Indiana University; Mark Sephton, Imperial College; Andrew Steele, Carnegie; Ben Weiss, MIT; and Michael Meyer, NASA HQ As recommended by the decadal survey Visions and Voyages for Planetary Science in the Decade 2013-2022 (2011) , a crucial element of our strategy to find evidence of life of Mars is Mars sample return.
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From page 116... ...
False Negatives in Remote Life Detection: Lessons from Early Earth Stephanie Olson, University of California, Riverside; Christopher T Reinhard, Georgia Institute of Technology; and Timothy W
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From page 117... ...
Global Surface Photosynthetic Biosignatures Prior to the Rise of Oxygen Mary Parenteau, NASA ARC; Nancy Kiang, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies; Robert Blankenship, Washington University in St. Louis; Esther Sanromá, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias; Enric Pallé, Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias; Tori Hoehler, NASA ARC; Beverly Pierson, University of Puget Sound; and Victoria Meadows, University of Washington The study of potential exoplanet biosignatures -- the global impact of life on a planetary environment -- has been informed primarily by the modern Earth, with little yet explored beyond atmospheric O2 from oxygenic photosynthesis out of chemical equilibrium, and its accompanying planetary surface reflectance feature, the vegetation "red edge" reflectance.
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From page 118... ...
A useful conceptual framework for addressing these concerns involves two complementary "null" hypotheses: testing both of them together would allow statistical and community confidence to be developed regarding one or the other conclusion. As noted above, false negatives are of primary concern for safety of Earth, so the "Earth safety null hypothesis" -- which must be disproved to assure low risk to Earth from samples introduced by Category V Restricted Earth Return missions -- is that "there is native life in these samples." False positives are primarily a concern for astrobiology, so the "astrobiology null hypothesis" -- which must be disproved in order to demonstrate the existence of extraterrestrial life -- is that "there is no life in these samples." The presence of Earth contamination would render both of these hypotheses more difficult to disprove.
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