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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2000

The Next Generation MOD: A Microchip Amino Acid Analyzer for Detecting Extraterrestrial Life

The MOD (Mars Organic Detector) instrument which has selected for the definition phase of the BEDS package on the 2005 Mars Explorer Program spacecraft is designed to simply detect the presence of amino acids in Martian surface samples at a sensitivity of a few parts per billion (ppb). An additional important aspect of amino acid analyses of Martian samples is identifying and quantifying which compounds are present, and also distinguishing those produced abiotically from those synthesized by either extinct or extant life. Amino acid homochirality provides an unambiguous way of distinguishing between abiotic vs. biotic origins. Proteins made up of mixed D- and L-amino acids would not likely have been efficient catalysts in early organisms because they could not fold into bioactive configurations such as the a-helix. However, enzymes made up of all D-amino acids function just as well as those made up of only L-amino acids, but the two enzymes use the opposite stereoisomeric substrates. There are no biochemical reasons why L-amino acids would be favored over Damino acids. On Earth, the use of only L-amino acids in proteins by life is probably simply a matter of chance. We assume that if proteins and enzymes were a component of extinct or extant life on Mars, then amino acid homochirality would have been a requirement. However, the possibility that Martian life was (or is) based on D-amino acids would be equal to that based on L-amino acids. The detection of a nonracemic mixture of amino acids in a Martian sample would be strong evidence for the presence of an extinct or extant biota on Mars. The finding of an excess of D-amino acids would provide irrefutable evidence of unique Martian life that could not have been derived from seeding the planet with terrestrial life (or the seeding of the Earth with Martian life). In contrast, the presence of racemic amino acids, along with non-protein amino acids such as alpha-aminoisobutyric acid and isovaline, would be indicative of an abiotic origin, although we have to consider the possibility that the racemic amino acids were generated from the racemization of biotically produced amino acids.

Mathies, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Radiation Tolerance of Nanopore Sequencing Technology for Life Detection on Mars and Europa

The search for life beyond Earth is a key motivator in space exploration. Informational polymers, like DNA and RNA, are key biosignatures for life as we know it. The MinION is a miniature DNA sequencer based on versatile nanopore technology that could be implemented on future planetary missions. A critical unanswered question is whether the MinION and its protein-based nanopores can withstand increased radiation exposure outside Earth’s shielding magnetic field. We evaluated the effects of ionizing radiation on the MinION platform – including flow cells, reagents, and hardware – and discovered limited performance loss when exposed to ionizing doses comparable to a mission to Mars. Targets with harsher radiation environments, like Europa, would require improved radiation resistance via additional shielding or design refinements.

Mark A. Sutton↗
NASA NTRS2017

Where Is the Upper Altitude Boundary of Earth's Biosphere? An Upcoming Stratosphere Exploration Mission

Earths atmosphere provides a relatively thin barrier to the severe conditions of space. Terrestrial microorganisms from our planets surface gets swept up into the atmosphere at rates which are influenced by meteorology, season, and variety of other regionally-dependent conditions. Residence time of microbes in the atmosphere, dispersal patterns, and metabolic activity in clouds are topics of special interest in tropospheric aerobiology. But what about even higher altitudes? A century of ocean exploration has allowed the scientific community to characterize marine life at every depth. Such knowledge was enabled by routine access, specifically, submersible vehicles with sample return systems. The outer reaches of Earth's atmosphere probably contain trace signatures of microbial life swept up from the surface, but high-altitude exploration (from 18-50 km above sea level) has been severely constrained by a shortage of reliable affordable sample acquisition systems. Thus, attempts to establish the upper altitude limits of Earths biosphere boundary remain unresolved. Previous conclusions based on observations of microbial growth and DNA signatures from samples collected in the upper atmosphere have resulted in extraordinary claims for the tenacity of life in the stratosphere. This altitude range can be regarded as a natural laboratory for examining the edge of habitability, a topic of central important to the field of astrobiology; in fact, stratosphere conditions (high UV light and low extremes of temperature, pressure, and relative humidity) closely resemble stressors associated with the surface of Mars. Moreover, low biomass detection instruments developed exploring Earths upper atmosphere can contribute to future strategies for life detection with spacecraft exploring other worlds. While pioneering, many past stratospheric microbiology studies have been qualitative in nature and lacking rigorous contamination control measurements to verify system sterility. We have designed, constructed, and recently flown a novel system for collecting upper atmosphere bioaerosols using the NASA C20A aircraft. We will report preliminary mission results from the lower stratosphere (characterizing abundance, diversity and survivability or airborne microorganisms), describe our methods for reducing false positives, and outline the open scientific engineering challenges in an ongoing effort to better establish Earths high-altitude biosphere boundary.

Smith, David J.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Genotypic & Phenotypic Diversity of Microbial Isolates from the Mars Exploration Rovers

Mars-bound rovers such as the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) endure strict planetary protection implementation campaigns to assess bioburden. The objective of this study is to identify cultivable microorganisms isolated by the NASA Standard Assay from spacecraft during pre-launch and evaluate their potential to survive conditions on the Martian surface. Of approximately 350 isolates collected from the MER spacecraft archive, 171 microorganisms were reconstituted for characterization via 16S rRNA fingerprinting. Alignment of 16S sequences revealed high levels of sequence similarity to spore-forming species, overwhelmingly of the genera Bacillus (73.7%) and Paenibacillus (14.0%). Samples underwent phenotype characterization employing multiple carbon sources and ion concentrations in an automated microarray format using the Omnilog system. Working and stock cultures were prepared to address the immediate needs for day-to-day culture utilization and long-term preservation, respectively. Results from this study produced details about the microbes that contaminate surfaces of spacecraft, as well as a preliminary evaluation of a rapid biochemical ID method that also provides a phenotypic assessment of contaminants. The overall outcome of this study will benefit emerging cleaning and sterilization technologies for preventing forward contamination that could negatively impact future life detection or sample return missions.

Mars Exploration Rovers↗
NASA NTRS2005

MEMS-Based Micro Instruments for In-Situ Planetary Exploration

NASA's planetary exploration strategy is primarily targeted to the detection of extant or extinct signs of life. Thus, the agency is moving towards more in-situ landed missions as evidenced by the recent, successful demonstration of twin Mars Exploration Rovers. Also, future robotic exploration platforms are expected to evolve towards sophisticated analytical laboratories composed of multi-instrument suites. MEMS technology is very attractive for in-situ planetary exploration because of the promise of a diverse and capable set of advanced, low mass and low-power devices and instruments. At JPL, we are exploiting this diversity of MEMS for the development of a new class of miniaturized instruments for planetary exploration. In particular, two examples of this approach are the development of an Electron Luminescence X-ray Spectrometer (ELXS), and a Force-Detected Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (FDNMR) Spectrometer.

micro instruments↗
NASA NTRS2003

Non-Equilibrium Thermodynamic Chemistry and the Composition of the Atmosphere of Mars

A high priority objective of the Mars Exploration Program is to Determine if life exists today (MEPAG Goal I, Objective A). The measurement of gases of biogenic origin may be an approach to detect the presence of microbial life on the surface or subsurface of Mars. Chemical thermodynamic calculations indicate that on both Earth and Mars, certain gases should exist in extremely low concentrations, if at all. Microbial metabolic activity is an important non-equilibrium chemistry process on Earth, and if microbial life exists on Mars, may be an important nonequilibrium chemistry process on Mars. The non-equilibrium chemistry of the atmosphere of Mars is discussed in this paper.

J S Levine↗
NASA NTRS2012

Can Terrestrial Microbes Grow on Mars?

The theme for AbSciCon 2012 is "Exploring Life: Past and Present, Near and Far." The conference will address our current understanding of life - from processes at the molecular level to those which operate at planetary scales. Studying these aspects of life on Earth provides an essential platform from which to examine the potential for life on other worlds, both within our solar system and beyond. Mars exhibits a variety of extreme environments characterized by high UV and ionizing radiation flux, low pressure anoxic atmosphere, scarce or absent liquid water, extreme low temperatures, etc. The ability of terrestrial microorganisms to survive and adapt to the Mars environment has profound implications for astrobiology, planetary protection, and Mars life detection missions. At the NASA Ames Synthetic Biology Initiative, we believe that synthetic biology has the potential to revolutionize human space exploration. As such, the initiative is dedicated to applying the tools and techniques of synthetic biology to space exploration and astrobiology. Biological solutions will be invaluable for space exploration because they are not resource intensive, and they are versatile and self-renewing. An understanding of how to work with DNA in an unfavorable environment is paramount to utilizing biological tools on space missions. Furthermore, the ability to adjust life to the parameters of Mars is vital both to discovering what life on Mars might look like, and to using biological tools under such conditions. As a first step, we need an energy-efficient, low cost means of transporting, storing, and protecting genomic DNA, DNA parts, and whole microbial strains. Our goal is to develop and demonstrate viable and superior alternatives to standard DNA storage methods, which can be optimized to the conditions of space exploration, using synthetic biology as a tool. This includes protocols and kit designs for easy and repeatable DNA and strain recovery from protective storage conditions. We are constructing newly engineered genetic parts for different valuable host organisms, designed to increased long-term survival and functional retention. These methods should be applied for DNA and strain storage and transportation. In parallel, we seek inspiration from natural organisms that have developed means for survival in extreme environmental conditions. We are utilizing novel techniques for analysis of lipid biomarkers in the Antarctic Dry Valleys in order to identify resident microbes in the Antarctic soil and permafrost, as well as biomarker fossils of organisms that survived in the valleys in ages past. Through the identification of these life forms, we hope to understand and draw on new biological tools and strategies for synthetic biological applications on Mars.

Rothschild, Lynn↗
NASA NTRS2003

Survey for Life-related Species During a Planetary Surface Exploration; System Type I - UV Stimulated Fluorescent Sensor

The widely accepted minimum requirements for life on Earth include the presence of water and accessible sources of carbon. We assume that the same criteria must hold for putative life on past or present Mars. The evidence for CO2 and H2O at or near the Martian surface, carbon in Martian meteorites, aqueous alteration, and probable hydrothermal activity suggest that conditions conducive to the origin and evolution of life on Mars may have existed for long periods of time and may still obtain at present. Surface exploration on Mars that enables the direct detection of water in minerals and of organic carbon (including not just organic and biogenic materials but their degradation products such as kerogen-like hydrocarbons and graphitized carbon) that might be products or residues of biologic activity, is crucial. The search for evidence of life, past or present, will nevertheless be difficult. The lack of direct evidence for organic carbon and the low amounts of water found in the soils at the Viking sites demonstrated the difficulties. Recent results of GRS experiment of Odyssey mission indicated the existence of abundant water ice beneath the Mars surface. Mineralogical evidence for the presence of carbonate, sulfates, or clay minerals, products of weathering and aqueous deposition, have not been identified unambiguously on Mars. Rocks such as shales and, more particularly, limestones, which we associate with moist and benign environments on Earth, are evidently not abundant. Presumably, then, neither were the photosynthetic organisms that might have produced them. In addition, the harsh present environment on Mars (e.g., dryness, low temperatures, large temperature cycles, high level of UV light on the surface, frequent dust storms, etc.) can both destroy carbon- and water-bearing materials and hide them. Therefore, directly detecting life-related materials on Mars was likened to seeking and examining proverbial needles in haystacks. We argue that survey type instruments, that can frequently and quickly check a relatively large amount of material at many locations during a mission, are essential.

Wang, Alian↗
NASA NTRS1966

Biology and the Exploration of Mars

Until recent years the origin of life and its possible occurrence elsewhere in the universe have been matters for speculation only. The rapid growth of molecular biology since 1940 has, to be sure, made it possible to discuss life's origins in far more precise and explicit terms than was possible earlier; and the subject entered a new experimental phase in the 1950's with successful abiogenic synthesis of important biochemical substances in conditions simulating the presumptive environment of the primitive Earth. But the real transformation that the subject has undergone stems from the spectacular growth of space technology in the last decade. The possibility of life's origin and occurrence on planets other than ours is no longer limited to idle speculation: it has entered the realm of the testable, of science in the strict sense. Given the rockets now available, and especially those available by 1969, it has become fully realistic to consider plans for the biological exploration of Mars. The study that this report seeks to interpret was initiated in June, 1964, by the Space Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences to examine this possibility. The working group comprised 36 people representing a broad spectrum of scientific interests: evolutionary biology, genetics, microbiology, biochemistry and molecular biology, animal physiology, soil chemistry, organic chemistry, planetary astronomy, geochemistry, and theoretical physics. The participants included some with considerable prior involvement in problems of space exploration and others with none. Advice was also sought outside the group of immediate participants on the potentialities of selected analytical methods for the experimental study of extraterrestrial life and its environment. More than 30 individuals contributed in this fashion written assessments of techniques in which they were particularly well versed. Our task was to examine the scientific foundations and merits of the proposal to undertake a biological exploration of Mars. What are the potential scientific yields? How valuable, if attained, would they be? What, in fact, is the possibility of life occurring on Mars? And of our detecting it with available and foreseeable technology? What could be achieved by further astronomical work from Earth? by Martian fly-by missions? by Martian orbiters? and Martian Landers? What payloads would we recommend for planetary missions? What timing and over-all strategy would we recommend for Martian exploration were we to consider it worthwhile at all? In brief, the over-all purpose was to recommend to. the government, through the Academy's Space Science Board, whether or not a biological exploration of Mars should be included in the nation's space program over the next few decades; and, further, to outline what that program, if any, should be.

CONFERENCE↗
NASA NTRS2004

Optical Detection of Organic Chemical Biosignatures at Hydrothermal Vents

We have developed a non-contact, optical life detection instrument that can detect organic chemical biosignatures in a number of different environments, including dry land, shallow aqueous, deep marine or in ice. Hence, the instrument is appropriate as a biosignature survey tool both for Mars exploration or in situ experiments in an ice-covered ocean such as one might wish to explore on Europa. Here, we report the results we obtained on an expedition aboard the Russian oceanographic vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh to hydrothermal vent sites in the Pacific Ocean using our life detection instrument MCDUVE, a multichannel, deep ultraviolet excitation fluorescence detector. MCDUVE detected organic material distribution on rocks near the vent, as well as direct detection of organisms, both microbial and microscopic. We also were able to detect organic material issuing directly from vent chimneys, measure the organic signature of the water column as we ascended, and passively observe the emission of light directly from some vents.

Conrad, P. G.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Exobiological exploration of Mars

Of all the other planets in the solar system, Mars remains the most promising for further elucidating concepts about chemical evolution and the origin of life. Strategies were developed to pursue three exobiological objectives for Mars exploration: determining the abundance and distribution of the biogenic elements and organic compounds, detecting evidence of an ancient biota on Mars, and determining whether indigenous organisms exist anywhere on the planet. The three strategies are quite similar and, in fact, share the same sequence of phases. In the first phase, each requires global reconnaissance and remote sensing by orbiters to select sites of interest for detailed in situ analyses. In the second phase, lander missions are conducted to characterize the chemical and physical properties of the selected sites. The third phase involves conducting 'critical' experiments at sites whose properties make them particularly attractive for exobiology. These critical experiments would include, for example, identification of organics, detection of fossils, and detection of extant life. The fourth phase is the detailed analysis of samples returned from these sites in Earth-based laboratories to confirm and extend previous discoveries. Finally, in the fifth phase, human exploration is needed to establish the geological settings for the earlier findings or to discover and explore sites that are not accessible to robotic spacecraft.

Klein, H. P.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Life Detection and Characterization of Subsurface Ice and Brine in the McMurdo Dry Valleys Using an Ultrasonic Gopher: A NASA ASTEP Project

Evidence for the presence of ice and fluids near the surface of Mars in both the distant and recent past is growing with each new mission to the Planet. One explanation for fluids forming springlike features on Mars is the discharge of subsurface brines. Brines offer potential refugia for extant Martian life, and near surface ice could preserve a record of past life on the planet. Proven techniques to get underground to sample these environments, and get below the disruptive influence of the surface oxidant and radiation regime, will be critical for future astrobiology missions to Mars. Our Astrobiology for Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP) project has the goal to develop and test a novel ultrasonic corer in a Mars analog environment, the McMurdo Dry valleys, Antarctica, and to detect and describe life in a previously unstudied extreme ecosystem; Lake Vida (Fig. 1), an ice-sealed lake.

Doran, P. T.↗
NASA NTRS1994

An exobiology science strategy for Mars exploration

Of all the other planets in the solar system, Mars remains the most promising for further elucidating concepts about chemical evolution and the origin of life. Exobiological objectives for Mars exploration include: determining the abundance and distribution of the biogenic elements and organic compounds, detecting evidence of an ancient biota on Mars, and determining whether indigenous organisms exist anywhere on the planet. Both approved and planned missions to Mars were evaluated for their potential to contribute to the understanding of these exobiology science objectives and an exploration strategy was developed for each objective.

Klein, H. P.↗
NASA NTRS1971

The planets and life.

It is pointed out that planetary exploration is not simply a program designed to detect life on another planet. A planet similar to earth, such as Mars, when studied for evidence as to why life did not arise, may turn out to be scientifically more important than a planet which has already produced a living system. Of particular interest after Mars are Venus and Jupiter. Jupiter has a primitive atmosphere which may well be synthesizing organic molecules today. Speculations have been made concerning the possibility of a bio-zone in the upper atmosphere of Venus.

Young, R. S.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Organic and Isotope Measurement Protocols under Development for the 2009 Mars Science Laboratory

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is under development by NASA with several international partners for launch in 2009. MSL is designed to quantitatively explore a local region on Mars as a potential habitat for present or past life (http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl). The goals of MSL are to (1) assess the past or present biological potential of the target environment, (2) to characterize its geology and geochemistry, (3) to study planetary processes that influence habitability, and (4) to characterize the surface radiation. The last substantial search for organic molecules on the surface of Mars was with the Viking Landers in 1976 [Biemann, et al., 19771. In that mission, no organics were detected in near surface fines and presently a more comprehensive search is required to understand the potential of that planet to support life. While the Mars Exploration Rovers are able to identify mineralogical signatures of aqueous alteration, they are not equipped to search for organics. The planned capabilities of the MSL rover payload will enable a search for a wide range of organic molecules in both solid samples of rocks and fines and atmospheric samples. MSL will also provide a determination of definitive mineralogy of the solid samples and precision isotope measurements of several volatile elements. Contact and remote surface and subsurface survey tools will establish context for Analytical Laboratory measurements and will facilitate sample selection. The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) suite of MSL addresses several of the mission's core measurement goals. SAM includes a gas chromatograph, a mass spectrometer, and a tunable laser spectrometer. We will describe the range of measurement protocols under development and test for SAM and the relationship of our planned measurements to outstanding issues of martian habitability.

Mahaffy, Paul R.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Search for Chiral Asymmetry as a Potential Biosignature in Samples from Mars

The search for evidence of extraterrestrial life in our solar system is currently guided by our understanding of terrestrial biology and its associated biosignatures. The observed homochirality in all life on Earth, that is, the predominance of “left-handed” or L-amino acids and “right-handed” or D-sugars, is a unique property of life that is crucial for molecular recognition, enzymatic function, information storage and structure and is thought to be a prerequisite for the origin or early evolution of life. Therefore, the detection of L- or D-enantiomeric excesses of chiral amino acids and sugars could be a powerful indicator of extant or extinct life on Mars or other habitable environments in our solar system. The exploration of habitable environments on Mars, including an assessment of the preservation potential for complex organics of either abiotic or biological origin, remains a key goal of both current and future Mars missions. Now with the unambiguous detection of indigenous organic matter in sedimentary rocks on Mars [1-3], NASA’s Curiosity rover has significantly advanced our understanding of the preservation of potential chemical biosignatures in the martian near surface. Although amino acids have not yet been identified by in situ measurements on Mars, if they were present, it is expected that amino acid hydrolysis and racemization would be very slow and any chiral or isotopic signatures from an extinct martian biota could be preserved for billions of years, given the extremely cold and dry surface conditions [4]. One of ESA’s Rosalind Franklin rover payload instruments called the Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) includes a wet chemistry package capable of measuring the enantiomeric ratios of any chiral amino acids present at part-per-million concentrations or higher [5]. The complexity and limited duration of spaceflight operations and the known analytical challenges associated with in situ extraction and characterization of trace reduced organic compounds in ancient rocks make it challenging to determine the origins of martian organic matter found to date. Coordinated state-of-the-art laboratory measurements of returned samples from Mars that include spatially resolved chemical, mineralogical, and isotopic studies and molecule-specific isotopic and enantiomeric measurements will be required to firmly establish whether the complex organic matter detected on Mars comes from biotic or abiotic sources. Ultimately, sample return may be our best chance of identifying chemical biosignatures from a past or present martian biota, if one ever existed on Mars. NASA’s Perseverance rover will collect dozens of surface sample cores for possible future return to Earth by NASA and ESA. Here we review our current knowledge of the distributions and enantiomeric and isotopic compositions of non-biological amino acids found in meteorites compared to terrestrial biochemistry and propose a set of measurement criteria that should be used to help establish the origin of any chiral asymmetry detected in samples from Mars [6].

Daniel P Glavin↗
NASA NTRS1999

MOD: An Organic Detector for the Future Exploration of Mars

The Mars Organic Detector (MOD) is designed to assess whether organic compounds, possibly associated with life, are present in Martian rock and soil samples. MOD has a detection limit that is at least two orders of magnitude more sensitive than the Viking GCMS. MOD is focused on detecting amino acids, amines and PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). Amino acids play an essential role in biochemistry on Earth and PAH are widespread throughout the universe and can provide an indication of the delivery of meteoritic organic material to Mars. The advantage of MOD is the absence of wet chemistry and its simple and robust design. The sample will be extracted from the mineral matrix (0.1 - 1 g of rock-powder) using sublimation and analyzed with a fluorescence detector. The isolation method is based on the fact that amino acids and PAH are volatile at temperatures greater than 150C. The fluorescence detection scheme is based on UV excitation with LED's, optical filters, PrN diode photon detector and a sample calibration reservoir. Fluorescamine is used as a fluorescing reagent for amino acids and amines, while PAH are naturally fluorescent. There is no sample preparation required and the turnaround time for a single analysis is on the order of minutes.

Kminek, G.↗