Science Objectives for Flagship-Class Mission Concepts for the Search for Evidence of Life at Enceladus
International audience 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 abu...
Published in: | Astrobiology |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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HAL CCSD
2022
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Online Access: | https://insu.hal.science/insu-03614109 https://insu.hal.science/insu-03614109v2/document https://insu.hal.science/insu-03614109v2/file/ast.2020.2425.pdf https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2020.2425 |
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Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines: HAL-UVSQ |
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English |
topic |
Enceladus mission Life detection Habitability [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics] |
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Enceladus mission Life detection Habitability [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics] Mackenzie, Shannon, M. Neveu, Marc Davila, Alfonso, F. Lunine, Jonathan, I. Cable, Morgan, L. Phillips-Lander, Charity, M. Eigenbrode, Jennifer, L. Waite, Jr, J. Hunter Craft, Kate, L. Hofgartner, Jason, D. Mckay, Chris, P. Glein, Christopher, R. Burton, Dana Kounaves, Samuel, P. Mathies, Richard, A. Vance, Steven, D. Malaska, Michael, J. Gold, Robert German, Christopher, R. Soderlund, Krista, M. Willis, Peter Freissinet, Caroline Mcewen, Alfred, S. Brucato, John Robert de Vera, Jean-Pierre, P. Hoehler, Tori, M. Heldmann, Jennifer Science Objectives for Flagship-Class Mission Concepts for the Search for Evidence of Life at Enceladus |
topic_facet |
Enceladus mission Life detection Habitability [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics] |
description |
International audience 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. |
author2 |
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Laurel, MD (APL) Department of Astronomy College Park University of Maryland College Park University of Maryland System-University of Maryland System GSFC Solar System Exploration Division NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Space Science and Astrobiology Division at Ames NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) Department of Astronomy Ithaca Cornell University New York Carl Sagan Institute Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH) Space Science and Engineering Division San Antonio Southwest Research Institute San Antonio (SwRI) Department of Anthropology George Washington University (GW) The George Washington University (GW) Pearson Chemical Laboratory Tufts University Medford Space Sciences Laboratory Berkeley (SSL) University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley) University of California (UC)-University of California (UC) Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Jackson School of Geosciences (JSG) University of Texas at Austin Austin PLANETO - LATMOS Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS) Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Lunar and Planetary Laboratory Tucson (LPL) University of Arizona INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri (OAA) Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt Köln (DLR) This work was supported by grant 80NSSC20K0136 of the NASA Planetary Mission Concept Studies Program. Some of the research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NM0018D0004). C.R.G. acknowledges support from the Exploring Ocean Worlds (ExOW) project (NASA Award: 80NSSC19K1427). |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mackenzie, Shannon, M. Neveu, Marc Davila, Alfonso, F. Lunine, Jonathan, I. Cable, Morgan, L. Phillips-Lander, Charity, M. Eigenbrode, Jennifer, L. Waite, Jr, J. Hunter Craft, Kate, L. Hofgartner, Jason, D. Mckay, Chris, P. Glein, Christopher, R. Burton, Dana Kounaves, Samuel, P. Mathies, Richard, A. Vance, Steven, D. Malaska, Michael, J. Gold, Robert German, Christopher, R. Soderlund, Krista, M. Willis, Peter Freissinet, Caroline Mcewen, Alfred, S. Brucato, John Robert de Vera, Jean-Pierre, P. Hoehler, Tori, M. Heldmann, Jennifer |
author_facet |
Mackenzie, Shannon, M. Neveu, Marc Davila, Alfonso, F. Lunine, Jonathan, I. Cable, Morgan, L. Phillips-Lander, Charity, M. Eigenbrode, Jennifer, L. Waite, Jr, J. Hunter Craft, Kate, L. Hofgartner, Jason, D. Mckay, Chris, P. Glein, Christopher, R. Burton, Dana Kounaves, Samuel, P. Mathies, Richard, A. Vance, Steven, D. Malaska, Michael, J. Gold, Robert German, Christopher, R. Soderlund, Krista, M. Willis, Peter Freissinet, Caroline Mcewen, Alfred, S. Brucato, John Robert de Vera, Jean-Pierre, P. Hoehler, Tori, M. Heldmann, Jennifer |
author_sort |
Mackenzie, Shannon, M. |
title |
Science Objectives for Flagship-Class Mission Concepts for the Search for Evidence of Life at Enceladus |
title_short |
Science Objectives for Flagship-Class Mission Concepts for the Search for Evidence of Life at Enceladus |
title_full |
Science Objectives for Flagship-Class Mission Concepts for the Search for Evidence of Life at Enceladus |
title_fullStr |
Science Objectives for Flagship-Class Mission Concepts for the Search for Evidence of Life at Enceladus |
title_full_unstemmed |
Science Objectives for Flagship-Class Mission Concepts for the Search for Evidence of Life at Enceladus |
title_sort |
science objectives for flagship-class mission concepts for the search for evidence of life at enceladus |
publisher |
HAL CCSD |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://insu.hal.science/insu-03614109 https://insu.hal.science/insu-03614109v2/document https://insu.hal.science/insu-03614109v2/file/ast.2020.2425.pdf https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2020.2425 |
genre |
South pole |
genre_facet |
South pole |
op_source |
ISSN: 1531-1074 EISSN: 1557-8070 Astrobiology https://insu.hal.science/insu-03614109 Astrobiology, 2022, 22 (6), pp.685-712. ⟨10.1089/ast.2020.2425⟩ |
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info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1089/ast.2020.2425 insu-03614109 https://insu.hal.science/insu-03614109 https://insu.hal.science/insu-03614109v2/document https://insu.hal.science/insu-03614109v2/file/ast.2020.2425.pdf doi:10.1089/ast.2020.2425 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2020.2425 |
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Astrobiology |
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22 |
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6 |
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op_container_end_page |
712 |
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ftuniversailles:oai:HAL:insu-03614109v2 2024-05-19T07:48:40+00:00 Science Objectives for Flagship-Class Mission Concepts for the Search for Evidence of Life at Enceladus Mackenzie, Shannon, M. Neveu, Marc Davila, Alfonso, F. Lunine, Jonathan, I. Cable, Morgan, L. Phillips-Lander, Charity, M. Eigenbrode, Jennifer, L. Waite, Jr, J. Hunter Craft, Kate, L. Hofgartner, Jason, D. Mckay, Chris, P. Glein, Christopher, R. Burton, Dana Kounaves, Samuel, P. Mathies, Richard, A. Vance, Steven, D. Malaska, Michael, J. Gold, Robert German, Christopher, R. Soderlund, Krista, M. Willis, Peter Freissinet, Caroline Mcewen, Alfred, S. Brucato, John Robert de Vera, Jean-Pierre, P. Hoehler, Tori, M. Heldmann, Jennifer Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Laurel, MD (APL) Department of Astronomy College Park University of Maryland College Park University of Maryland System-University of Maryland System GSFC Solar System Exploration Division NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Space Science and Astrobiology Division at Ames NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) Department of Astronomy Ithaca Cornell University New York Carl Sagan Institute Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) NASA-California Institute of Technology (CALTECH) Space Science and Engineering Division San Antonio Southwest Research Institute San Antonio (SwRI) Department of Anthropology George Washington University (GW) The George Washington University (GW) Pearson Chemical Laboratory Tufts University Medford Space Sciences Laboratory Berkeley (SSL) University of California Berkeley (UC Berkeley) University of California (UC)-University of California (UC) Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Jackson School of Geosciences (JSG) University of Texas at Austin Austin PLANETO - LATMOS Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS) Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Lunar and Planetary Laboratory Tucson (LPL) University of Arizona INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri (OAA) Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt Köln (DLR) This work was supported by grant 80NSSC20K0136 of the NASA Planetary Mission Concept Studies Program. Some of the research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (80NM0018D0004). C.R.G. acknowledges support from the Exploring Ocean Worlds (ExOW) project (NASA Award: 80NSSC19K1427). 2022-03-15 https://insu.hal.science/insu-03614109 https://insu.hal.science/insu-03614109v2/document https://insu.hal.science/insu-03614109v2/file/ast.2020.2425.pdf https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2020.2425 en eng HAL CCSD Mary Ann Liebert info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1089/ast.2020.2425 insu-03614109 https://insu.hal.science/insu-03614109 https://insu.hal.science/insu-03614109v2/document https://insu.hal.science/insu-03614109v2/file/ast.2020.2425.pdf doi:10.1089/ast.2020.2425 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ info:eu-repo/semantics/OpenAccess ISSN: 1531-1074 EISSN: 1557-8070 Astrobiology https://insu.hal.science/insu-03614109 Astrobiology, 2022, 22 (6), pp.685-712. ⟨10.1089/ast.2020.2425⟩ Enceladus mission Life detection Habitability [SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics] info:eu-repo/semantics/article Journal articles 2022 ftuniversailles https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2020.2425 2024-05-02T00:02:05Z International audience 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. Article in Journal/Newspaper South pole Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines: HAL-UVSQ Astrobiology 22 6 685 712 |