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At least 19 records
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NASA NTRS1992

Exobiology: The NASA program

The goal of NASA's Exobiology Program is to understand the origin, evolution, and distribution of life in the universe. To do this, the Exobiology Program seeks to provide a critical framework and some key research to allow NASA to bear the combined talents and capabilities of the agency and the scientific community, and the unique opportunities afforded by space exploration. To provide structure and direction to the quest for answers, the Exobiology Program has instituted a comprehensive research program divided into four elements which are being implemented at several of NASA's research centers and in the university community. These program elements correspond to the four major epochs in the evolution of living systems: (1) cosmic evolution of the biogenic compounds; (2) prebiotic evolution; (3) origin and early evolution of life; and (4) evolution of advanced life. The overall research program is designed to trace the pathways leading from the origin of the universe through the major epochs in the story of life.

Rummel, John D.↗
NASA NTRS1984

NASA's Exobiology Program

The goal of NASA's Exobiology Program is to understand the origin, evolution, and distribution of life, and life-related molecules, on earth and throughout the universe. Emphasis is focused on determining how the rate and direction of these processes were affected by the chemical and physical environment of the evolving planet, as well as by planetary, solar, and astrophysical phenomena. This is accomplished by a multi-disciplinary program of research conducted by over 60 principal investigators in both NASA and university laboratories. Major program thrusts are in the following research areas: biogenic elements; chemical evolution; origin of life; organic geochemistry; evolution of higher life forms; solar system exploration; and the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI).

Devincenzi, D. L.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Theoretical studies of the infrared emission from circumstellar dust shells: the infrared characteristics of circumstellar silicates and the mass-loss rate of oxygen-rich late-type giants

We have modeled the infrared emission of spherically symmetric, circumstellar dust shells with the aim of deriving the infrared absorption properties of circumstellar silicate grains and the mass-loss rates of the central stars. As a basis for our numerical studies, a simple semianalytical formula has been derived that illustrates the essential characteristics of the infrared emission of such dust shells. A numerical radiative transfer program has been developed and applied to dust shells around oxygen-rich late-type giants. Free parameters in such models include the absorption properties and density distribution of the dust. An approximate, analytical expression is derived for the density distribution of circumstellar dust driven outward by radiation pressure from a central source. A large grid of models has been calculated to study the influence of the free parameters on the emergent spectrum. These results form the basis for a comparison with near-infrared observations. Observational studies have revealed a correlation between the near-infrared color temperature, Tc, and the strength of the 10 micrometers emission or absorption feature, A10. This relationship, which essentially measures the near-infrared optical depth in terms of the 10 micrometers optical depth, is discussed. Theoretical A10-Tc relations have been calculated and compared to the observations. The results show that this relation is a sensitive way to determine the ratio of the near-infrared to 10 micrometers absorption efficiency of circumstellar silicates. These results as well as previous studies show that the near-infrared absorption efficiency of circumstellar silicate grains is much higher than expected from terrestrial minerals. We suggest that this enhanced absorption is due to the presence of ferrous iron (Fe2+) color centers dissolved in the circumstellar silicates. By using the derived value for the ratio of the near-infrared to 10 micrometers absorption efficiency, the observed A10-Tc relation can be calibrated in terms of the total dust column density of the circumstellar shell and thus the mass-loss rate of late-type giants can easily be derived. Detailed models have been made of the infrared emission of three well-studied Miras: R Cas, IRC 10011, and OH 26.5+0.6, with the emphasis on the shape of the 10 micrometers emission or absorption feature. The results show that the intrinsic shape of the 10 micrometers resonance varies from a very broad feature in R Cas to a relatively narrower feature in OH 26.5+0.6, with IRC 10011 somewhere in between. Possible origins of this variation are discussed. The mass-loss rates from these objects are calculated to be 3 x 10(-7), 2 x 10(-5), and 2 x 10(-4) M Sun yr-1 for R Cas, IRC 10011, and OH 26.5+0.6, respectively. These results are compared to other determinations in the literature.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗
NASA NTRS1989

Secular change in chert distribution: a reflection of evolving biological participation in the silica cycle

In the modern oceans, the removal of dissolved silica from sea water is principally a biological process carried out by diatoms, with lesser contributions from radiolaria, silicoflagellates, and sponges. Because such silica in sediments is often redistributed locally during diagenesis to from nodular or bedded chert, stratigraphic changes in the facies distribution of early diagenetic chert provide important insights into the development of biological participation in the silica cycle. The abundance of chert in upper Proterozoic peritidal carbonates suggests that at this time silica was removed from seawater principally by abiological processes operating in part of the margins of the oceans. With the evolution of demosponges near the beginning of the Cambrian Period, subtidal biogenetic cherts became increasingly common, and with the Ordovician rise of radiolaria to ecological and biogeochemical prominence, sedimented skeletons became a principal sink for oceanic silica. Cherts of Silurian to Cretaceous age share many features of facies distribution and petrography but they differ from Cenozoic siliceous deposits. These differences are interpreted to reflect the mid-Cretaceous radiation of diatoms and their subsequent rise to domination of the silica cycle. Biogeochemical cycles provide an important framework for the paleobiological interpretation of the organisms that participate in them.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1989

Metal dynamics in Lake Vanda (Wright Valley, Antarctica)

Data are reported for Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Cd in the Onyx River, and for Mn, Co, Ni, Cu and Cd in Lake Vanda, a closed-basin Antarctic lake. Oxic water concentrations for Co, Ni, Cu and Cd were quite low and approximate pelagic ocean values. Scavenging of these metals by sinking particles is strongly indicated. Deep-lake profiles reveal a sharp peak in the concentrations of Mn, Fe and Co at the oxic-anoxic boundary at 60 m. Maxima for Ni, Cu and Cd occur higher in the water column, in the vicinity of a Mn submaximum, suggesting early release of these metals from sinking manganese oxide-coated particles. A rough steady-state model leads to the conclusion that there is a large downward flux of Mn into the deep lake and that this flux is sufficient to explain the annual loss of Co, Ni, Cu and Cd. A pronounced geochemical separation between Fe and Mn apparently occurs in this system--Fe being best lost in near-shore environments and Mn being lost in deeper waters. Comparison of metal residence times in Lake Vanda with those in the oceans shows that in both systems Mn, Fe and Co are much more reactive than Ni, Cu and Cd. Energetically favorable inclusion of the more highly charged metals, Mn(IV), Fe(III) and Co(III), into oxide-based lattices is a plausible explanation.

NASA Center ARC↗
NASA NTRS1988

Optical properties of benthic photosynthetic communities: fiber-optic studies of cyanobacterial mats

A fiber-optic microphobe was used to analyze the spectral light gradients in benthic cyanobacterial mats with 50-micrometer depth resolution and 10-nm spectral resolution. Microcoleus chthononplastes mats were collected from hypersaline, coastal ponds at Guerrero Negro, Baja California. Gradients of spectral radiance, L, were measured at different angles through the mats and the spherically integrated scalar irradiance, Eo, was calculated. Maximal spectral light attenuation was found at the absorption peaks for the dominant photosynthetic pigments: chlorophyll a at 430 and 670 nm, carotenoids at 450-500 nm, phycocyanin at 620 nm, and bacteriochlorophyll a at 800-900 nm. Scattered light had a marked spectral effect on the scalar irradiance which near the mat surface reached up to 190% of the incident irradiance. The spherically integrated irradiance thus differed strongly from the incident irradiance both in total intensity and in spectral composition. These basic optical properties are important for the understanding of photosynthesis and light harvesting in benthic and epiphytic communities.

NASA Center ARC↗
NASA NTRS1986

Sources of carbon and sulfur nutrition for consumers in three meromictic lakes of New York State

The trophic importance of bacterioplankton as a source of carbon and sulfur nutrition for consumers in meromictic lakes was tested using stable carbon (delta 13C) and sulfur (delta 34S) isotopic measurements. Studies in three lakes near Syracuse, New York, showed that most consumers ultimately derive their C and S nutrition from a mixture of terrestrial detritus, phytoplankton, and littoral vegetation, rather than from bacterioplankton. Food webs in these meromictic lakes are thus similar to those in other lakes that lack dense populations of bacterioplankton.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗
NASA NTRS1993

Microscale characterization of dissolved organic matter production and uptake in marine microbial mat communities

Intertidal marine microbial mats exhibited biologically mediated uptake of low molecular weight dissolved organic matter (DOM), including D-glucose, acetate, and an L-amino acid mixture at trace concentrations. Uptake of all compounds occurred in darkness, but was frequently enhanced under natural illumination. The photosystem 2 inhibitor, 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethyl urea (DCMU) generally failed to inhibit light-stimulated DOM uptake. Occasionally, light plus DCMU-amended treatments led to uptake rates higher than light-incubated samples, possibly due to phototrophic bacteria present in subsurface anoxic layers. Uptake was similar with either 3H- or 14C-labeled substrates, indicating that recycling of labeled CO2 via photosynthetic fixation was not interfering with measurements of light-stimulated DOM uptake. Microautoradiographs showed a variety of pigmented and nonpigmented bacteria and, to a lesser extent, cyanobacteria and eucaryotic microalgae involved in light-mediated DOM uptake. Light-stimulated DOM uptake was often observed in bacteria associated with sheaths and mucilage surrounding filamentous cyanobacteria, revealing a close association of organisms taking up DOM with photoautotrophic members of the mat community. The capacity for dark- and light-mediated heterotrophy, coupled to efficient retention of fixed carbon in the mat community, may help optimize net production and accretion of mats, even in oligotrophic waters.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗
NASA NTRS1995

Life on Mars? II. Physical restrictions

The primary physical factors important to life's evolution on a planet include its temperature, pressure and radiation regimes. Temperature and pressure regulate the presence and duration of liquid water on the surface of Mars. The prolonged presence of liquid water is essential for the evolution and sustained presence of life on a planet. It has been postulated that Mars has always been a cold dry planet; it has also been postulated that early mars possessed a dense atmosphere of CO2 (> or = 1 bar) and sufficient water to cut large channels across its surface. The degree to which either of these postulates is true correlates with the suitability of Mars for life's evolution. Although radiation can destroy living systems, the high fluxes of UV radiation on the martian surface do not necessarily stop the origin and early evolution of life. The probability for life to have arisen and evolved to a significant degree on Mars, based on the postulated ranges of early martian physical factors, is almost solely related to the probability of liquid water existing on the planet for at least hundreds of millions to billions of years.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗
NASA NTRS1996

Feedback shift register sequences versus uniformly distributed random sequences for correlation chromatography

Two alternative input sequences are commonly employed in correlation chromatography (CC). They are sequences derived according to the algorithm of the feedback shift register (i.e., pseudo random binary sequences (PRBS)) and sequences derived by using the uniform random binary sequences (URBS). These two sequences are compared. By applying the "cleaning" data processing technique to the correlograms that result from these sequences, we show that when the PRBS is used the S/N of the correlogram is much higher than the one resulting from using URBS.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗
NASA NTRS1989

Ecology and life history of an amoebomastigote, Paratetramitus jugosus, from a microbial mat: new evidence for multiple fission

Five microbial habitats (gypsum crust, gypsum photosynthetic community, Microcoleus mat, Thiocapsa scum, and black mud) were sampled for the presence of the euryhaline, rapidly growing amoebomastigote, Paratetramitus jugosus. Field investigations of microbial mats from Baja California Norte, Mexico, and Salina Bido near Matanzas, Cuba, reveal that P. jugosus is most frequently found in the Thiocapsa layer of microbial mats. Various stages of the life history were studied using phase-contrast, differential-interference, and transmission electron microscopy. Mastigote stages were induced and studied by electron microscopy; mastigotes that actively feed on bacteria bear two or more undulipodia. A three-dimensional drawing of the kinetid ("basal apparatus") based on electron micrographs is presented. Although promitoses were occasionally observed, it is unlikely that they can account for the rapid growth of P. jugosus populations on culture media. Dense, refractile, spherical, and irregular-shaped bodies were seen at all times in all cultures along with small mononucleate (approximately 2-7 micrometers diameter) amoebae. Cytochemical studies employing two different fluorescent stains for DNA (DAPI, mithramycin) verified the presence of DNA in these small bodies. Chromatin-like material seen in electron micrographs within the cytoplasm and blebbing off nuclei were interpreted to the chromatin bodies. Our interpretation, consistent with the data but not proven, is that propagation by multiple fission of released chromatin bodies that become small amoebae may occur in Paratetramitus jugosus. These observations are consistent with descriptions of amoeba propagules in the early literature (Hogue, 1914).

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1987

Heterococcus endolithicus sp. nov. (Xanthophyceae) and other terrestrial Heterococcus species from Antarctica: morphological changes during life history and response to temperature

Strains of Heterococcus endolithicus sp. nov., H. pleurococcoides Pitschmann, H. caespitosus Vischer, and H. protonematoides Vischer isolated from terrestrial habitats in Antarctica were studied in culture. Morphology of the algae changes with stage in life history. The characteristic branching patterns are not present in very young or old cultures. Filament formation is suppressed when cultures are grown outside their optimal temperature range.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1991

Method for determining stable isotope ratios of dissolved organic carbon in interstitial and other natural marine waters

A procedure is described for the analysis of the stable carbon isotopic composition of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in natural waters from marine and higher-salinity environments. Rapid (less than 5 min) and complete oxidation of DOC is achieved using a modification of previous photochemical oxidation techniques. The CO2 evolved from DOC oxidation can be collected in less than 10 min for isotopic analysis. The procedure is at present suitable for oxidation and collection of 1-5 micromoles of carbon and has an associated blank of 0.1-0.2 micromole of carbon. Complete photochemical oxidation of DOC standards was demonstrated by quantitative recovery of CO2 as measured manometrically. Isotopic analyses of standards by photochemical and high-temperature sealed-tube combustion methods agreed to within 0.3%. Photochemical oxidation of DOC in a representative sediment pore-water sample was also quantitative, as shown by the excellent agreement between the photochemical and sealed-tube methods. The delta 13C values obtained for pore-water DOC using the two methods of oxidation were identical, suggesting that the modified photochemical method is adequate for the isotopically non-fractionated oxidation of pore-water DOC. The procedure was evaluated through an analysis of DOC in pond and pore waters from a hypersaline microbial mat environment. Concentrations of DOC in the water column over the mat displayed a diel pattern, but the isotopic composition of this DOC remained relatively constant (average delta 13C = -12.4%). Pore-water DOC exhibited a distinct concentration maximum in the mat surface layer, and delta 13C of pore-water DOC was nearly 8% lighter at 1.5-2.0-cm depth than in the mat surface layer (0-0.5-cm depth). These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the method in elucidating differences in DOC concentration and delta 13C over biogeochemically relevant spatial and temporal scales. Carbon isotopic analysis of DOC in natural waters, especially pore waters, should be a useful probe of biogeochemical processes in recent environments.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗
NASA NTRS1995

Numerical simulation of the general circulation of the atmosphere of Titan

The atmospheric circulation of Titan is investigated with a general circulation model. The representation of the large-scale dynamics is based on a grid point model developed and used at Laboratoire de Meteorologie Dynamique for climate studies. The code also includes an accurate representation of radiative heating and cooling by molecular gases and haze as well as a parametrization of the vertical turbulent mixing of momentum and potential temperature. Long-term simulations of the atmospheric circulation are presented. Starting from a state of rest, the model spontaneously produces a strong superrotation with prograde equatorial winds (i.e., in the same sense as the assumed rotation of the solid body) increasing from the surface to reach 100 m sec-1 near the 1-mbar pressure level. Those equatorial winds are in very good agreement with some indirect observations, especially those of the 1989 occultation of Star 28-Sgr by Titan. On the other hand, the model simulates latitudinal temperature contrasts in the stratosphere that are significantly weaker than those observed by Voyager 1 which, we suggest, may be partly due to the nonrepresentation of the spatial and temporal variations of the abundances of molecular species and haze. We present diagnostics of the simulated atmospheric circulation underlying the importance of the seasonal cycle and a tentative explanation for the creation and maintenance of the atmospheric superrotation based on a careful angular momentum budget.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗
NASA NTRS1990

Intact capture of hypervelocity projectiles

The ability to capture projectiles intact at hypervelocities opens new applications in science and technology that would either not be possible or would be very costly by other means. This capability has been demonstrated in the laboratory for aluminum projectiles of 1.6 mm diameter, captured at 6 km/s, in one unmelted piece, and retaining up to 95% of the original mass. Furthermore, capture was accomplished passively using microcellular underdense polymer foam. Another advantage of capturing projectiles in an underdense medium is the ability of such a medium to preserve a record of the projectile's original velocity components of speed and direction. A survey of these experimental results is described in terms of a dozen parameters which characterize the amount of capture and the effect on the projectile due to different capture media.

NASA Discipline Number 52-50↗
NASA NTRS1989

Paleoenvironmental distribution of microfossils and stromatolites in the Upper Proterozoic Backlundtoppen Formation, Spitsbergen

The Upper Proterozoic (ca. 700-800 Ma old) Backlundtoppen Formation, northeastern Spitsbergen, preserves an abundant and varied record of ancient microbial life. Five distinctive microfossil assemblages occur in five equally distinct sedimentary settings; differences among the assemblages appear to reflect original ecological heterogeneity, although taphonomic circumstance may contribute to some distinctions. Microfossil assemblages occur in: oncolites, oolites, and pisolites; stratiform stromatolites and associated intraclastic rudites; partially silicified micrites; and siltites interbedded with quartz arenites. Individual assemblages contain one to eight differentiable taxa; a minimum of 17 distinct populations is present in the formation as a whole. Additional microbial community diversity an be inferred from the presence of domal, columnar, pseudocolumnar, and coniform stromatolites, none of which contains microfossils. On the basis of macrostructure, four stromatolite types appear to be present, but only three distinct mat-building communities can be inferred from microstructural features. Eohyella elongata n. sp., a euendolithic cyanobacterium found in silicified pisolites, is described as new.

Non-NASA Center↗