Planetary Mass Spectrometry for Agnostic Life Detection in the Solar System
For the past fifty years of space exploration, mass spectrometry has provided unique chemical and physical insights on the characteristics of other planetary bodies in the Solar System. A variety of mass spectrometer types, including magnetic sector, quadrupole, time-of-flight, and ion trap, have an...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspas.2021.755100/full |
| _version_ | 1818366436964302848 |
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| author | Luoth Chou Luoth Chou Paul Mahaffy Melissa Trainer Jennifer Eigenbrode Ricardo Arevalo William Brinckerhoff Stephanie Getty Natalie Grefenstette Natalie Grefenstette Victoria Da Poian G. Matthew Fricke Christopher P. Kempes Jeffrey Marlow Barbara Sherwood Lollar Heather Graham Sarah Stewart Johnson |
| author_facet | Luoth Chou Luoth Chou Paul Mahaffy Melissa Trainer Jennifer Eigenbrode Ricardo Arevalo William Brinckerhoff Stephanie Getty Natalie Grefenstette Natalie Grefenstette Victoria Da Poian G. Matthew Fricke Christopher P. Kempes Jeffrey Marlow Barbara Sherwood Lollar Heather Graham Sarah Stewart Johnson |
| author_sort | Luoth Chou |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | For the past fifty years of space exploration, mass spectrometry has provided unique chemical and physical insights on the characteristics of other planetary bodies in the Solar System. A variety of mass spectrometer types, including magnetic sector, quadrupole, time-of-flight, and ion trap, have and will continue to deepen our understanding of the formation and evolution of exploration targets like the surfaces and atmospheres of planets and their moons. An important impetus for the continuing exploration of Mars, Europa, Enceladus, Titan, and Venus involves assessing the habitability of solar system bodies and, ultimately, the search for life—a monumental effort that can be advanced by mass spectrometry. Modern flight-capable mass spectrometers, in combination with various sample processing, separation, and ionization techniques enable sensitive detection of chemical biosignatures. While our canonical knowledge of biosignatures is rooted in Terran-based examples, agnostic approaches in astrobiology can cast a wider net, to search for signs of life that may not be based on Terran-like biochemistry. Here, we delve into the search for extraterrestrial chemical and morphological biosignatures and examine several possible approaches to agnostic life detection using mass spectrometry. We discuss how future missions can help ensure that our search strategies are inclusive of unfamiliar life forms. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T22:36:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-113328e49d704efc8930b32ce1a3d3e8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-987X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T22:36:08Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-113328e49d704efc8930b32ce1a3d3e82022-12-21T23:28:58ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences2296-987X2021-10-01810.3389/fspas.2021.755100755100Planetary Mass Spectrometry for Agnostic Life Detection in the Solar SystemLuoth Chou0Luoth Chou1Paul Mahaffy2Melissa Trainer3Jennifer Eigenbrode4Ricardo Arevalo5William Brinckerhoff6Stephanie Getty7Natalie Grefenstette8Natalie Grefenstette9Victoria Da Poian10G. Matthew Fricke11Christopher P. Kempes12Jeffrey Marlow13Barbara Sherwood Lollar14Heather Graham15Sarah Stewart Johnson16NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Solar System Exploration Division, Greenbelt, MD, United StatesDepartment of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United StatesNASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Solar System Exploration Division, Greenbelt, MD, United StatesNASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Solar System Exploration Division, Greenbelt, MD, United StatesNASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Solar System Exploration Division, Greenbelt, MD, United StatesDepartment of Geology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United StatesNASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Solar System Exploration Division, Greenbelt, MD, United StatesNASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Solar System Exploration Division, Greenbelt, MD, United StatesSanta Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, United StatesBlue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA, United StatesNASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Solar System Exploration Division, Greenbelt, MD, United StatesDepartment of Computer Science and Center for Advanced Research Computing, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United StatesSanta Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, United StatesDepartment of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA, United StatesDepartment of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, CanadaNASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Solar System Exploration Division, Greenbelt, MD, United StatesDepartment of Biology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United StatesFor the past fifty years of space exploration, mass spectrometry has provided unique chemical and physical insights on the characteristics of other planetary bodies in the Solar System. A variety of mass spectrometer types, including magnetic sector, quadrupole, time-of-flight, and ion trap, have and will continue to deepen our understanding of the formation and evolution of exploration targets like the surfaces and atmospheres of planets and their moons. An important impetus for the continuing exploration of Mars, Europa, Enceladus, Titan, and Venus involves assessing the habitability of solar system bodies and, ultimately, the search for life—a monumental effort that can be advanced by mass spectrometry. Modern flight-capable mass spectrometers, in combination with various sample processing, separation, and ionization techniques enable sensitive detection of chemical biosignatures. While our canonical knowledge of biosignatures is rooted in Terran-based examples, agnostic approaches in astrobiology can cast a wider net, to search for signs of life that may not be based on Terran-like biochemistry. Here, we delve into the search for extraterrestrial chemical and morphological biosignatures and examine several possible approaches to agnostic life detection using mass spectrometry. We discuss how future missions can help ensure that our search strategies are inclusive of unfamiliar life forms.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspas.2021.755100/fullmass spectrometrylife detectionagnostic biosignaturesplanetary explorationastrobiology |
| spellingShingle | Luoth Chou Luoth Chou Paul Mahaffy Melissa Trainer Jennifer Eigenbrode Ricardo Arevalo William Brinckerhoff Stephanie Getty Natalie Grefenstette Natalie Grefenstette Victoria Da Poian G. Matthew Fricke Christopher P. Kempes Jeffrey Marlow Barbara Sherwood Lollar Heather Graham Sarah Stewart Johnson Planetary Mass Spectrometry for Agnostic Life Detection in the Solar System Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences mass spectrometry life detection agnostic biosignatures planetary exploration astrobiology |
| title | Planetary Mass Spectrometry for Agnostic Life Detection in the Solar System |
| title_full | Planetary Mass Spectrometry for Agnostic Life Detection in the Solar System |
| title_fullStr | Planetary Mass Spectrometry for Agnostic Life Detection in the Solar System |
| title_full_unstemmed | Planetary Mass Spectrometry for Agnostic Life Detection in the Solar System |
| title_short | Planetary Mass Spectrometry for Agnostic Life Detection in the Solar System |
| title_sort | planetary mass spectrometry for agnostic life detection in the solar system |
| topic | mass spectrometry life detection agnostic biosignatures planetary exploration astrobiology |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fspas.2021.755100/full |
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