Life’s Origins and the Search for Life on Rocky Exoplanets

Elements ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 265-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul B. Rimmer ◽  
Sukrit Ranjan ◽  
Sarah Rugheimer
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Origins Of Life ◽  
Laboratory Work ◽  
Laboratory Research ◽  
Extraterrestrial Life ◽  
Prior Probabilities ◽  
Spectral Signatures ◽  
Prebiotic Chemical ◽  
Origins Research ◽  
Life On Earth

The study of the origin(s) of life on Earth and the search for life on other planets are closely linked. Prebiotic chemical scenarios can help priori-tize target planets for the search for life (as we know it) and can provide informative prior probabilities to help us assess the likelihood that particular spectroscopic features are evidence of life. The prerequisites for origins scenarios themselves predict characteristic spectral signatures. The interplay between origins research and the search for extraterrestrial life starts with laboratory work to guide exploration within our own Solar System, which will then inform future exoplanet observations and laboratory research. Exoplanet research will, in turn, provide statistical context to conclusions about the nature and origins of life.

Organic matter in carbonaceous meteorites: past, present and future research

2005 ◽  
Vol 363 (1837) ◽  
pp. 2729-2742 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A Sephton
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Solar System ◽  
Chemical Evolution ◽  
Chemical Environment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Organic Chemical ◽  
Early Solar System ◽  
Organic Mixtures ◽  
Prebiotic Chemical ◽  
Life On Earth

Carbonaceous meteorites are fragments of ancient asteroids that have remained relatively unprocessed since the formation of the Solar System. These carbon-rich objects provide a record of prebiotic chemical evolution and a window on the early Solar System. Many compound classes are present reflecting a rich organic chemical environment during the formation of the planets. Recent theories suggest that similar extraterrestrial organic mixtures may have acted as the starting materials for life on Earth.

scholarly journals Classification of the Biogenicity of Complex Organic Mixtures for the Detection of Extraterrestrial Life

Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 234
Author(s):  
Nicholas Guttenberg ◽  
Huan Chen ◽  
Tomohiro Mochizuki ◽  
H. James Cleaves
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Extraterrestrial Life ◽  
Analytical Technique ◽  
Spectral Signatures ◽  
Organic Mixtures ◽  
Terrestrial Life ◽  
Algorithmic Analysis ◽  
In Situ Methods ◽  
Solar System Exploration ◽  
Near Future

Searching for life in the Universe depends on unambiguously distinguishing biological features from background signals, which could take the form of chemical, morphological, or spectral signatures. The discovery and direct measurement of organic compounds unambiguously indicative of extraterrestrial (ET) life is a major goal of Solar System exploration. Biology processes matter and energy differently from abiological systems, and materials produced by biological systems may become enriched in planetary environments where biology is operative. However, ET biology might be composed of different components than terrestrial life. As ET sample return is difficult, in situ methods for identifying biology will be useful. Mass spectrometry (MS) is a potentially versatile life detection technique, which will be used to analyze numerous Solar System environments in the near future. We show here that simple algorithmic analysis of MS data from abiotic synthesis (natural and synthetic), microbial cells, and thermally processed biological materials (lab-grown organisms and petroleum) easily identifies relational organic compound distributions that distinguish pristine and aged biological and abiological materials, which likely can be attributed to the types of compounds these processes produce, as well as how they are formed and decompose. To our knowledge this is the first comprehensive demonstration of the utility of this analytical technique for the detection of biology. This method is independent of the detection of particular masses or molecular species samples may contain. This suggests a general method to agnostically detect evidence of biology using MS given a sufficiently strong signal in which the majority of the material in a sample has either a biological or abiological origin. Such metrics are also likely to be useful for studies of possible emergent living phenomena, and paleobiological samples.

scholarly journals Organic chemistry in space and the search for life in our Solar System 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascale Ehrenfreund
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
United Arab Emirates ◽  
Space Missions ◽  
Planetary Science ◽  
Laboratory Research ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Extraterrestrial Life ◽  
Solar Ultraviolet Radiation ◽  
Hayabusa 2 ◽  
Human Exploration

<p>One of the most fascinating questions in planetary science is how life originated on Earth and whether life exists beyond Earth. Life on Earth originated approximately 3.5 billion years ago and has adapted to nearly every explored environment including the deep ocean, dry deserts and ice continents. What were the chemical raw materials available for life to develop? Many carbonaceous compounds are identified by astronomical observations in our Solar System and beyond. Small Solar System bodies hold clues to both processes that formed our Solar System and the processes that probably contributed carbonaceous molecules and volatiles during the heavy bombardment phase to the young planets in our Solar System. The latter process may have contributed to life’s origin on Earth. Space missions that investigate the composition of comets and asteroids and in particular their organic content provide major opportunities to determine the prebiotic reservoirs that were available to early Earth and Mars. Recently, the Comet rendezvous mission Rosetta has monitored the evolution of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko during its approach to the Sun. Rosetta observed numerous volatiles and complex organic compounds on the cometary surface and in the coma. JAXA’s Hayabusa-2 mission has returned samples from near-Earth asteroid Ryugu in December 2020 and we may have some interesting scientific results soon. Hayabusa-2 also carried the German-French landing module MASCOT (mobile asteroid surface scout) that provided new insights into the structure and composition of the asteroid Ryugu during its 17-hour scientific exploration.</p><p>Presently, a fleet of robotic space missions target planets and moons in order to assess their habitability and to seek biosignatures of simple extraterrestrial life beyond Earth. Prime future targets in the outer Solar System include moons that may harbor internal oceans such as Europa, Enceladus, and Titan. Life may have emerged during habitable periods on Mars and evidence of life may still be preserved in the subsurface, evaporite deposits, caves, or polar regions. On Mars, a combination of solar ultraviolet radiation and oxidation processes are destructive to organic material and life on and close to the surface. However, the progress and the revolutionary quality and quantity of data on “extreme life” on Earth has transformed our view of habitability. In 2021, we will hopefully have three robotic missions arriving at Mars from China, the United Arab Emirates and NASA (Tianwen-1, Hope, and Mars2020 respectively). In 2022, ESA’s ExoMars program will launch the Rosalind Franklin Rover and landing platform, and drill two meters deep into the Martian subsurface for the first time. Mars is still the central object of interest for habitability studies and life detection beyond Earth, paving the way for returned samples and human exploration.</p><p>Measurements from laboratory, field, and space simulations are vital in the preparation phase for future planetary exploration missions. This Cassini lecture will review the evolution and distribution of organic matter in space, including results from space missions, field and laboratory research, and discuss the science and technology preparation necessary for robotic and human exploration efforts investigating habitability and biosignatures in our Solar System.</p>

Leaves, genes, and greenhouse gases

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Beerling
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Liquid Water ◽  
Natural Radioactivity ◽  
Extraterrestrial Life ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Direct Observations ◽  
Solar System Exploration ◽  
Life On Earth ◽  
The Universe ◽  
Modern Astronomy

The Galileo spacecraft, named after the Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), who launched modern astronomy with his observations of the heavens in 1610, plunged to oblivion in Jupiter’s crushing atmosphere on 21 September 2003. Launched in 1989, it left behind a historic legacy that changed the way we view the solar system. Galileo’s mission was to study the planetary giant Jupiter and its satellites, four of which Galileo himself observed, to his surprise, moving as ‘stars’ around the planet from his garden in Pardu, Italy. En route, the spacecraft captured the first close-up images of an asteroid (Gaspra) and made direct observations of fragments of the comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 smashing into Jupiter. Most remarkable of all were the startling images of icebergs on the surface of Europa beamed backed in April 1997, after nearly eight years of solar system exploration. Icebergs suggested the existence of an extraterrestrial ocean, liquid water. To the rapt attention of the world’s press, NASA’s mission scientists commented that liquid water plus organic compounds already present on Europa, gave you ‘life within a billion years’. Whether this is the case is a moot point; water is essential for life on Earth as we know it, but this is no guarantee it is needed for life elsewhere in the Universe. Oceans may also exist beneath the barren rocky crusts of two other Galilean satellites, Callisto and Ganymede. Callisto and Ganymede probably maintain a liquid ocean thanks to the heat produced by natural radioactivity of their rocky interiors. Europa, though, lies much closer to Jupiter, and any liquid water could be maintained by heating due to gravitational forces that stretch and squeeze the planet in much the same way as Earth’s moon influences our tides. To reach Jupiter, Galileo required two slingshots (gravitational assists) around Earth and Venus. Gravitational assists accelerate the speed and adjust the trajectory of the spacecraft without it expending fuel. The planets doing the assisting pay the price with an imperceptible slowing in their speed of rotation. In Galileo’s case, the procedure fortuitously permitted close observations of Earth from space, allowing a control experiment in the search for extraterrestrial life, never before attempted.

scholarly journals Commission 51: Bioastronomy – Search for Extraterrestrial Life

2005 ◽  
Vol 1 (T26A) ◽  
pp. 171-174
Author(s):  
Karen Meech ◽  
Alan Boss ◽  
Cristiano Cosmovici ◽  
Pascale Ehrenfreund ◽  
David Latham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Origin Of Life ◽  
International Society ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Extrasolar Planets ◽  
Extraterrestrial Life ◽  
Evolution Of Life ◽  
Formation And Evolution ◽  
The Origin Of Life ◽  
Life On Earth

Historically, there have been two main groups dealing with the investigation of extraterrestrial life and habitable worlds. The first is IAU Commission 51, composed of astronomers, physicists and engineers who focus on the search for extrasolar planets, formation and evolution of planetary systems, and the astronomical search for intelligent signals. The second group, the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life (ISSOL), is composed largely of biologists and chemists focusing research on the biogenesis and evolution of life on Earth and in the solar system. There are now a variety of international organizations dedicated to this field, and this triennium has seen the beginnings of coordination and interaction between the groups through the Federation of Astrobiology Organizations, FAO.

scholarly journals The Emergence of Life

2019 ◽  
Vol 215 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Camprubí ◽  
J. W. de Leeuw ◽  
C. H. House ◽  
F. Raulin ◽  
M. J. Russell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Origins Of Life ◽  
Icy Moons ◽  
Life On Earth ◽  
Emergence Of Life

AbstractThe aim of this article is to provide the reader with an overview of the different possible scenarios for the emergence of life, to critically assess them and, according to the conclusions we reach, to analyze whether similar processes could have been conducive to independent origins of life on the several icy moons of the Solar System. Instead of directly proposing a concrete and unequivocal cradle of life on Earth, we focus on describing the different requirements that are arguably needed for the transition between non-life to life. We approach this topic from geological, biological, and chemical perspectives with the aim of providing answers in an integrative manner. We reflect upon the most prominent origins hypotheses and assess whether they match the aforementioned abiogenic requirements. Based on the conclusions extracted, we address whether the conditions for abiogenesis are/were met in any of the oceanic icy moons.

scholarly journals Factoring Origin of Life Hypotheses into the Search for Life in the Solar System and Beyond

Life ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Longo ◽  
Bruce Damer
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Hydrothermal Vents ◽  
Hot Springs ◽  
Planetary Science ◽  
Icy Moons ◽  
Alternative Hypotheses ◽  
Biochemical Mechanisms ◽  
Early Mars ◽  
Life On Earth ◽  
Detection Strategies

Two widely-cited alternative hypotheses propose geological localities and biochemical mechanisms for life’s origins. The first states that chemical energy available in submarine hydrothermal vents supported the formation of organic compounds and initiated primitive metabolic pathways which became incorporated in the earliest cells; the second proposes that protocells self-assembled from exogenous and geothermally-delivered monomers in freshwater hot springs. These alternative hypotheses are relevant to the fossil record of early life on Earth, and can be factored into the search for life elsewhere in the Solar System. This review summarizes the evidence supporting and challenging these hypotheses, and considers their implications for the search for life on various habitable worlds. It will discuss the relative probability that life could have emerged in environments on early Mars, on the icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and also the degree to which prebiotic chemistry could have advanced on Titan. These environments will be compared to ancient and modern terrestrial analogs to assess their habitability and biopreservation potential. Origins of life approaches can guide the biosignature detection strategies of the next generation of planetary science missions, which could in turn advance one or both of the leading alternative abiogenesis hypotheses.

Complex Autocatalysis in Simple Chemistries

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathaniel Virgo ◽  
Takashi Ikegami ◽  
Simon McGregor
Keyword(s):  
Network Structure ◽  
Exponential Growth ◽  
Origins Of Life ◽  
Higher Order ◽  
Nonlinear Phenomena ◽  
Direct Reaction ◽  
Form Complex ◽  
First Order ◽  
Life On Earth ◽  
Catalytic Effects

Life on Earth must originally have arisen from abiotic chemistry. Since the details of this chemistry are unknown, we wish to understand, in general, which types of chemistry can lead to complex, lifelike behavior. Here we show that even very simple chemistries in the thermodynamically reversible regime can self-organize to form complex autocatalytic cycles, with the catalytic effects emerging from the network structure. We demonstrate this with a very simple but thermodynamically reasonable artificial chemistry model. By suppressing the direct reaction from reactants to products, we obtain the simplest kind of autocatalytic cycle, resulting in exponential growth. When these simple first-order cycles are prevented from forming, the system achieves superexponential growth through more complex, higher-order autocatalytic cycles. This leads to nonlinear phenomena such as oscillations and bistability, the latter of which is of particular interest regarding the origins of life.

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