Astrobiology – Research and Missions...Europa Clipper Mission 27 Ensure capability for collecting...
Transcript of Astrobiology – Research and Missions...Europa Clipper Mission 27 Ensure capability for collecting...
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
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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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