Science Objectives for Flagship-Class Mission Concepts for the Search for Evidence of Life at Enceladus.

Autor: MacKenzie SM; Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, USA., Neveu M; Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA.; Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA., Davila AF; Division of Space Science and Astrobiology, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA., Lunine JI; Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA.; Carl Sagan Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA., Cable ML; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA., Phillips-Lander CM; Space Science and Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA., Eigenbrode JL; Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, USA., Waite JH; Space Science and Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA., Craft KL; Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, USA., Hofgartner JD; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA., McKay CP; Division of Space Science and Astrobiology, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA., Glein CR; Space Science and Engineering Division, Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, Texas, USA., Burton D; Department of Anthropology, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA., Kounaves SP; Department of Chemistry, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, USA., Mathies RA; Chemistry Department and Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA., Vance SD; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA., Malaska MJ; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA., Gold R; Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Maryland, USA., German CR; Department of Geology & Geophysics, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA., Soderlund KM; Institute for Geophysics, Jackson School of Geosciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA., Willis P; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA., Freissinet C; CNRS-University of Versailles St Quentin, LATMOS, Guyancourt, France., McEwen AS; Lunar and Planetary Lab, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA., Brucato JR; INAF-Astrophysical Observatory of Arcetri, Firenze, Italy., de Vera JP; Space Operations and Astronaut Training, MUSC, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Cologne, Germany., Hoehler TM; Division of Space Science and Astrobiology, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA., Heldmann J; Division of Space Science and Astrobiology, NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Astrobiology [Astrobiology] 2022 Jun; Vol. 22 (6), pp. 685-712. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Mar 15.
DOI: 10.1089/ast.2020.2425
Abstrakt: Cassini revealed that Saturn's Moon Enceladus hosts a subsurface ocean that meets the accepted criteria for habitability with bio-essential elements and compounds, liquid water, and energy sources available in the environment. Whether these conditions are sufficiently abundant and collocated to support life remains unknown and cannot be determined from Cassini data. However, thanks to the plume of oceanic material emanating from Enceladus' south pole, a new mission to Enceladus could search for evidence of life without having to descend through kilometers of ice. In this article, we outline the science motivations for such a successor to Cassini , choosing the primary science goal to be determining whether Enceladus is inhabited and assuming a resource level equivalent to NASA's Flagship-class missions. We selected a set of potential biosignature measurements that are complementary and orthogonal to build a robust case for any life detection result. This result would be further informed by quantifications of the habitability of the environment through geochemical and geophysical investigations into the ocean and ice shell crust. This study demonstrates that Enceladus' plume offers an unparalleled opportunity for in situ exploration of an Ocean World and that the planetary science and astrobiology community is well equipped to take full advantage of it in the coming decades.
Databáze: MEDLINE