气候变化领域集成服务门户(CCPortal): Quantitative evaluation of the feasibility of sampling the ice plumes at Enceladus for biomarkers of extraterrestrial life

CCPortal

DOI	10.1073/pnas.2106197118
	Quantitative evaluation of the feasibility of sampling the ice plumes at Enceladus for biomarkers of extraterrestrial life
	New J.S.; Kazemi B.; Spathis V.; Price M.C.; Mathies R.A.; Butterworth A.L.
发表日期	2021
ISSN	0027-8424
卷号	118 期号:37
英文摘要	Enceladus, an icy moon of Saturn, is a compelling destination for a probe seeking biosignatures of extraterrestrial life because its subsurface ocean exhibits significant organic chemistry that is directly accessible by sampling cryovolcanic plumes. State-of-the-art organic chemical analysis instruments can perform valuable science measurements at Enceladus provided they receive sufficient plume material in a fly-by or orbiter plume transit. To explore the feasibility of plume sampling, we performed light gas gun experiments impacting micrometer-sized ice particles containing a fluorescent dye biosignature simulant into a variety of soft metal capture surfaces at velocities from 800 m · s-1 up to 3 km · s-1. Quantitative fluorescence microscopy of the capture surfaces demonstrates organic capture efficiencies of up to 80 to 90% for isolated impact craters and of at least 17% on average on indium and aluminum capture surfaces at velocities up to 2.2 km · s-1. Our results reveal the relationships between impact velocity, particle size, capture surface, and capture efficiency for a variety of possible plume transit scenarios. Combined with sensitive microfluidic chemical analysis instruments, we predict that our capture system can be used to detect organic molecules in Enceladus plume ice at the 1 nM level—a sensitivity thought to be meaningful and informative for probing habitability and biosignatures. © 2021 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
英文关键词	Astrobiology; Ice particle impacts; Ocean worlds; Planetary exploration; Space sciences instrumentation
语种	英语
scopus关键词	aluminum; fluorescent dye; indium; Article; chemical analysis; controlled study; feasibility study; fluorescence microscopy; microfluidics; moon; particle size; plume; prediction; quantitative analysis; space; surface area; velocity
来源期刊	Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/238933
作者单位	Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States; School of Physical Sciences, University of Kent, Kent, CT2 7NH, United Kingdom; Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	New J.S.,Kazemi B.,Spathis V.,et al. Quantitative evaluation of the feasibility of sampling the ice plumes at Enceladus for biomarkers of extraterrestrial life[J],2021,118(37).
APA	New J.S.,Kazemi B.,Spathis V.,Price M.C.,Mathies R.A.,&Butterworth A.L..(2021).Quantitative evaluation of the feasibility of sampling the ice plumes at Enceladus for biomarkers of extraterrestrial life.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,118(37).
MLA	New J.S.,et al."Quantitative evaluation of the feasibility of sampling the ice plumes at Enceladus for biomarkers of extraterrestrial life".Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 118.37(2021).