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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 325 records · Page 18
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2015

Nanopore Device for Reversible Ion and Molecule Sensing or Migration

Disclosed are methods and devices for detection of ion migration and binding, utilizing a nanopipette adapted for use in an electrochemical sensing circuit. The nanopipette may be functionalized on its interior bore with metal chelators for binding and sensing metal ions or other specific binding molecules such as boronic acid for binding and sensing glucose. Such a functionalized nanopipette is comprised in an electrical sensor that detects when the nanopipette selectively and reversibly binds ions or small molecules. Also disclosed is a nanoreactor, comprising a nanopipette, for controlling precipitation in aqueous solutions by voltage-directed ion migration, wherein ions may be directed out of the interior bore by a repulsing charge in the bore.

Pourmand, Nader↗
NASA NTRS2016

First Detection of Non-Chlorinated Organic Molecules Indigenous to a Martian Sample

The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument onboard Curiosity can perform pyrolysis of martian solid samples, and analyze the volatiles by direct mass spectrometry in evolved gas analysis (EGA) mode, or separate the components in the GCMS mode (coupling the gas chromatograph and the mass spectrometer instruments). In addition, SAM has a wet chemistry laboratory designed for the extraction and identification of complex and refractory organic molecules in the solid samples. The chemical derivatization agent used, N-methyl-N-tert-butyldimethylsilyl- trifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA), was sealed inside seven Inconel metal cups present in SAM. Although none of these foil-capped derivatization cups have been punctured on Mars for a full wet chemistry experiment, an MTBSTFA leak was detected and the resultant MTBSTFA vapor inside the instrument has been used for a multi-sol MTBSTFA derivatization (MD) procedure instead of direct exposure to MTBSTFA liquid by dropping a solid sample directly into a punctured wet chemistry cup. Pyr-EGA, Pyr-GCMS and Der-GCMS experiments each led to the detection and identification of a variety of organic molecules in diverse formations of Gale Crater.

Freissinet, C.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Formation and Recondensation of Complex Organic Molecules During Protostellar Luminosity Outbursts

During the formation of stars, the accretion of surrounding material toward the central object is thought to undergo strong luminosity outbursts followed by long periods of relative quiescence, even at the early stages of star formation when the protostar is still embedded in a large envelope. We investigated the gas-phase formation and recondensation of the complex organic molecules (COMs) di-methyl ether and methyl formate, induced by sudden ice evaporation processes occurring during luminosity outbursts of different amplitudes in protostellar envelopes. For this purpose, we updated a gas-phase chemical network forming COMs in which ammonia plays a key role. The model calculations presented here demonstrate that ion-molecule reactions alone could account for the observed presence of di-methyl ether and methyl formate in a large fraction of protostellar cores without recourse to grain-surface chemistry, although they depend on uncertain ice abundances and gas-phase reaction branching ratios. In spite of the short outburst timescales of about 100 years, abundance ratios of the considered species higher than 10% with respect to methanol are predicted during outbursts due to their low binding energies relative to water and methanol which delay their recondensation during cooling. Although the current luminosity of most embedded protostars would be too low to produce complex organics in the hot-core regions that are observable with current sub-millimetric interferometers, previous luminosity outburst events would induce the formation of COMs in extended regions of protostellar envelopes with sizes increasing by up to one order of magnitude.

astrochemistry↗
NASA NTRS2017

Laboratory Investigations into the Spectra and Origin of Propylene Oxide: A Chiral Interstellar Molecule

Propylene oxide was recently identified in the interstellar medium, but few laboratory results are available for this molecule to guide current and future investigations. To address this situation, here we report infrared spectra, absorption coefficients, and band strengths of solid propylene oxide along with the first measurement of its refractive index and a calculation of its density, all for the amorphous solid form of the compound. We present the first experimental results showing a low-temperature formation pathway for propylene oxide near 10 K in interstellar ice analogs. Connections are drawn between our new results and the interstellar molecules propanal and acetone, and predictions are made about several as yet unobserved vinyl alcohols and methylketene. Comparisons are given to earlier laboratory work and a few applications to interstellar and solar system astrochemistry are described.

molecular processes↗
NASA NTRS2016

In Situ Analysis of Martian Regolith with the SAM Experiment During the First Mars Year of the MSL Mission: Identification of Organic Molecules by Gas Chromatography from Laboratory Measurements

The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument onboard the Curiosity rover, is specifically designed for in situ molecular and isotopic analyses of martian surface materials and atmosphere. It contributes to the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) missions primary scientific goal to characterize the potential past, present or future habitability of Mars. In all of the analyses of solid samples delivered to SAM so far, chlorinated organic compounds have been detected above instrument background levels and identified by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) (Freissinet et al., 2015; Glavin et al., 2013). While some of these may originate from reactions between oxychlorines and terrestrial organic carbon present in the instrument background (Glavin et al., 2013), others have been demonstrated to originate from indigenous organic carbon present in samples (Freissinet et al., 2015). We present here laboratory calibrations that focused on the analyses performed with the MXT-CLP GC column (SAM GC-5 channel) used for nearly all of the GC-MS analyses of the martian soil samples carried out with SAM to date. Complementary to the mass spectrometric data, gas chromatography allows us to separate and identify the species analyzable in a nominal SAM-GC run time of about 21 min. To characterize the analytical capabilities of this channel within the SAM Flight Model (FM) operating conditions on Mars, and their implications on the detection of organic matter, it is required to perform laboratory experimental tests and calibrations on spare model components. This work assesses the SAM flight GC-5 column efficiency, confirms the identification of the molecules based on their retention time, and enables a better understanding of the behavior of the SAM injection trap (IT) and its release of organic molecules. This work will enable further optimization of the SAM-GC runs for additional samples to be analyzed during the MSL mission.

analysis↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Stellar Energetic Particle-driven Production of Biologically Relevant Molecules in Atmospheres of Young Earth-like Exoplanets Around Active G-K Stars

The chemistry of N2, CO2, CH4-rich atmospheres of terrestrial-type exoplanets around active G-K stars is a complex problem: the star's ionizing radiation in the form of X-ray and Extreme UV radiation and the precipitating energetic particles accelerated in coronal mass ejection driven shocks can drive complex chemistry in the exoplanetary atmosphere, and ignite the production of complex molecules (Airapetian et al., 2016). We developed a set of atmospheric models to simulate the formation of organic molecules that can be considered as atmospheric pre-biosignatures from exoplanets around active stars. The model has recently been extended to account for the production of ions, their role in the enhanced chemistry in the lower atmosphere, as well as the interaction of these ions with the aerosols. We applied the photochemical-collisional model to simulate the chemistry of a young terrestrial-type exoplanets resembling the Hadean Earth to highlight the creation of atmospheric pre-biosignatures, relevant greenhouse gases, and the presence of aerosols driven by stellar activity sources. We also discuss the impact of that modified atmospheric chemistry on the exoplanetary climate.

Guillaume Philippe Gronoff↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Ongoing Quantum Chemistry Study of Molecules with Potential for Molecular Quantum Communications Using Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Other Techniques

Molecular quantum communications (the term here being used to define the transfer of information using the movement of quantum states between molecules or between molecules and a sensing environment that can be queried) can be achieved with a wide range of phenomena. Although there are excellent materials databases such as the Open Quantum Materials Database (http://oqmd.org/analysis/gclp/) and the Materials Project (https://materialsproject.org/), there is no centralized database of materials correlated to their quantum communications possibilities.

Harry Shaw↗
NASA NTRS2021

Identifying molecules as biosignatures with assembly theory and mass spectrometry

The search for alien life is hard because we do not know what signatures are unique to life. We show why complex molecules found in high abundance are universal biosignatures and demonstrate the first intrinsic experimentally tractable measure of molecular complexity, called the molecular assembly index (MA). To do this we calculate the complexity of several million molecules and validate that their complexity can be experimentally determined by mass spectrometry. This approach allows us to identify molecular biosignatures from a set of diverse samples from around the world, outer space, and the laboratory, demonstrating it is possible to build a life detection experiment based on MA that could be deployed to extraterrestrial locations, and used as a complexity scale to quantify constraints needed to direct prebiotically plausible processes in the laboratory. Such an approach is vital for finding life elsewhere in the universe or creating de-novo life in the lab.

Stuart M. Marshall↗
NASA NTRS2021

A Deep Search for Five Molecules in the 49 Ceti Debris Disk

Surprisingly strong CO emission has been observed from more than a dozen debris disks around nearby main-sequence stars. The origin of this CO is unclear, in particular whether it is left over from the protoplanetary disk phase or is second-generation material released from collisions between icy bodies like debris dust. The primary unexplored avenue for distinguishing the origin of the material is understanding its molecular composition. Here we present a deep search for five molecules (CN, HCN, HCO+, SiO, and CH3OH) in the debris disk around 49 Ceti. We take advantage of the high sensitivity of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array at Band 7 to integrate for 3.2 hr at modest spatial (1′′) and spectral (0.8 km s−1) resolution. Our search yields stringent upper limits on the flux of all surveyed molecular lines, which imply abundances relative to CO that are orders of magnitude lower than those observed in protoplanetary disks and solar system comets, and also those predicted in outgassing models of second-generation material. However, if CI shielding is responsible for extending the lifetime of any CO produced in second-generation collisions as proposed by Kral et al., then the line ratios do not reflect true ice phase chemical abundances but rather imply that CO is shielded by its own photodissociation product, CI, and other molecules are rapidly photodissociated by the stellar and interstellar radiation field.

Debris disks↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Stellar Energetic Particle-driven Production of Biologically Relevant Molecules in Atmospheres of Young Earth-like Exoplanets

The chemistry of N2, CO2, CH4-rich atmospheres of terrestrial-type exoplanets around active G-K stars is a complex problem. The star's energetic inputs in the atmospheres take the form of ionizing radiation in the form of X-ray, Extreme UV, as well as precipitating energetic particles that were accelerated in coronal mass ejection-driven shocks. These inputs lead to the ionization and dissociation of the atmospheric species, which enable complex chemical processes resulting in the creation of molecules of interest for both astrobiology and climate (Airapetian et al., 2016; Hayworth et al. 2022). We developed a set of atmospheric models to simulate the formation of organic molecules that can be considered as atmospheric pre-biosignatures from exoplanets around active stars. They take into account the dissociations and ionizations from all the energetic inputs in the atmosphere as well as their role in the enhanced chemistry in the lower atmosphere. In addition, the evaluation of stellar energetic particle fluxes is done using the latest techniques to accurately highlight the depth at which the chemistry is enabled. These models were used to simulate the chemistry of several young terrestrial-type exoplanets resembling the Hadean Earth to highlight the creation of atmospheric pre-biosignatures and relevant greenhouse gases, in function of different scenarios for its atmospheric evolution. This work shows the importance of space weather in the chemical evolution of atmospheres of astrobiological interest.

Guillaume Gronof↗
NASA NTRS2019

The Non-Destructive Separation of Diverse Astrobiologically Relevant Organic Molecules By Customizable Capillary Zone Electrophoresis and Monolithic Capillary Electrochromatography

The in situ detection of organic molecules in space is key to understanding the variety and the distribution of the building blocks of life, and possibly the detection of extraterrestrial life itself. Gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) has been the most sensitive analytical instrument for organic analyses in flight, and was used on missions from NASA’s Viking, Phoenix, Curiosity missions to ESA’s Rosetta space probe. While pyrolysis GC-MS revealed the first organics on Mars, this step alters or degrades certain fragile molecules that are excellent biosignatures including polypeptides, oligonucleotides and polysaccharides, rendering the intact precursors undetectable. We have identified a solution tailored to the detection of biopolymers and other biomarkers by the use of liquid-based capillary electrophoresis and electrochromatography. In this study, we show that a capillary electrochromatography (CEC) approach using monolithic stationary phases with tailor-made surface chemistry can separate and identify various polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), nucleobases and aromatic acids that could be formed under astrophysically relevant conditions. In order to simulate flyby organic sample capture, we conducted hypervelocity impact experiments which consisted of accelerating peptide-soaked montmorillonite particles to a speed of 5.6 km/sec, and capturing them in an amorphous silica aerogel of 10 and 30 mg/cc bulk density. Bulk peptide extraction from aerogel followed by capillary zone electrophoresis led to the detection of only two stereoisomeric peptide peaks. The recovery rates of each step of the extraction procedure after the hypervelocity impact suggest that major peptide loss occurred during the impact. Our study provides initial exploration of feasibility of this approach for capturing intact peptides, and subsequently detecting candidate biomolecules during flight missions that would be missed by GC-MS alone. As the monolith-based electrochromatography technology could be customized to detect specific classes of compounds as well as miniaturized, these results demonstrate the potential of the instrumentation for future astrobiology-related spaceflight missions.

Flyby sample return↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Discrete Rotational Energy for Polyatomic Molecules in Direct Simulation Monte Carlo

Accurate prediction of aerothermodynamic loads in thermal non-equilibrium flows requires precise modeling of internal energy exchange. While previous direct simulation Monte Carlo frameworks have successfully implemented discrete rotational energy models for diatomic species, the treatment of polyatomic molecules has traditionally relied on continuous energy assumptions that break down at low temperatures and neglect critical high-temperature corrections. This study extends the discrete rotational energy models of Boyd and Gimelshein to fully encompass polyatomic molecules. The proposed framework implements quantized rotational energy level sampling for linear, spherical, and symmetric/asymmetric top rotors. Crucially, the model incorporates centrifugal distortion to address the limitations of the rigid-rotor assumption at hypersonic temperatures, and accounts for nuclear spin parity, which dictates the permissible rotational states and macroscopic specific heats at low temperatures. The model is verified through equilibrium sampling procedures, demonstrating agreement with theoretical quantum Boltzmann distributions and accurately reproducing thermophysical properties across a wide range of temperatures.

DSMC↗
NASA NTRS2026

Isotopic Signature of Organic Molecules from Beyond the Solar System: An Enriched Methane D/H Ratio in the Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS

Interstellar objects are interlopers from other planetary systems, and their volatile compositions provide a glimpse into planet formation around their host star. We present near-infrared spectra of the coma of interstellar object 3I/ATLAS measured with the James Webb Space Telescope. Our results demonstrate an unexpectedly high D/H = (3.31 ± 0.34)% for methane and represent an exceedingly rare detection of deuterated organic molecules in an interstellar object. This D/H ratio is a factor of 14 ± 2 higher than that measured in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by the Rosetta spacecraft, the only other comet for which CH3D has been detected, yet the ratio of deuteration in methane compared with water is consistent for both comets within 1.2σ. The D/H ratio in methane is observationally unconstrained in extrasolar sources to date, but the enriched ratio in 3I/ATLAS is most similar to those measured in other organic molecules toward primitive environments. The high D/H ratios of water and methane in 3I/ATLAS are a natural consequence of formation in a high D/H elemental ratio environment as a result of locally cold conditions in the protoplanetary disk and prior interstellar cloud. Thus, 3I/ATLAS formed in an environment very different from that in which our Sun and planets originated.

Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS↗