Astrobiology最新文献

Intimate Link Between Prebiotic Chemistry and Meteorites: Mechanisms of Organic Molecule Formation. 生命前化学与陨石的密切联系：有机分子形成机制。

IF 2.3 3区物理与天体物理

Astrobiology Pub Date : 2026-12-01 Epub Date: 2026-10-07 DOI: 10.1177/15311074261493342

Libby D Tunney, Paul H M Harrison, Gregory F Slater

{"title":"Intimate Link Between Prebiotic Chemistry and Meteorites: Mechanisms of Organic Molecule Formation.","authors":"Libby D Tunney, Paul H M Harrison, Gregory F Slater","doi":"10.1177/15311074261493342","DOIUrl":"10.1177/15311074261493342","url":null,"abstract":"Whether meteorites brought ingredients necessary for the origin of life exogenously or they were produced endogenously on early Earth, having a prebiotic chemical inventory of organic compounds associated with meteorites is critical, as it represents a window into the organic compound building blocks available for the emergence of life. Understanding the prebiotic chemical reaction mechanisms of our solar system can aid in the distinction between abiotic and biotic processes in Earth's early history, which remains poorly constrained. In addition, these mechanisms can provide insight into what can be considered an abiosignature versus a biosignature. Such insight is key when considering the inventory of organic compounds intrinsic to meteorites, since extant life on Earth easily and readily contaminates meteorites. Formation mechanisms proposed for the organic compounds identified in meteorites demonstrate that complex compounds can arise from nine simple precursors found in the interstellar medium: water (H2O), ammonia (NH3), hydrogen cyanide (HCN), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), hydrogen (H2), nitric oxide (NO), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Here we combine the mechanisms proposed for the formation of synthetically produced prebiotic organic compounds, noting their links to organic compounds observed on meteorites, and discuss the current weaknesses in our understanding of reaction yields and/or missing or poorly constrained processes. This review and analysis provide a resource of current knowledge of laboratory-based experimental data and identify future directions that are, or we recommend should, be explored.","PeriodicalId":8645,"journal":{"name":"Astrobiology","volume":" ","pages":"1057-1089"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149126535","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

A Review of the Geochemical Environment at Selk Crater on Titan: Applications to Dragonfly. 土卫六Selk陨石坑地球化学环境研究进展：在蜻蜓上的应用。

IF 2.3 3区物理与天体物理

Astrobiology Pub Date : 2026-12-01 Epub Date: 2026-10-07 DOI: 10.1177/15311074261493711

Catherine D Neish, Sarah M Hörst, Jani Radebaugh, Melissa G Trainer, David Boulesteix, Arnaud Buch, Morgan L Cable, Ellen C Czaplinski, Kendra K Farnsworth, Ralph D Lorenz, Shannon MacKenzie, Matthew Pasek, Jason M Soderblom

{"title":"A Review of the Geochemical Environment at Selk Crater on Titan: Applications to Dragonfly.","authors":"Catherine D Neish, Sarah M Hörst, Jani Radebaugh, Melissa G Trainer, David Boulesteix, Arnaud Buch, Morgan L Cable, Ellen C Czaplinski, Kendra K Farnsworth, Ralph D Lorenz, Shannon MacKenzie, Matthew Pasek, Jason M Soderblom","doi":"10.1177/15311074261493711","DOIUrl":"10.1177/15311074261493711","url":null,"abstract":"This article summarizes the current state of knowledge regarding the destination for NASA's Dragonfly mission: Titan's Selk crater. We aim to foster an enhanced understanding of the environment in which Selk crater formed and how it evolved over time so that this knowledge may be used to interpret the data collected by the Dragonfly mission. In particular, we seek to constrain the likely products of the organic chemistry that occurred in its impact melt deposits. As such, we focus here on the crustal composition in the region where Selk crater formed, the molecules delivered by the impactor, the likely duration and evolution of aqueous chemistry in its melt deposits, and their expected reactants and chemical pathways. We conclude this article with recommendations for the best locations to sample the products of these reactions and describe how Dragonfly may use its instrumentation to identify and characterize the products of the aqueous chemistry at Selk crater.","PeriodicalId":8645,"journal":{"name":"Astrobiology","volume":" ","pages":"1090-1109"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149126448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Assessing the Preservation of Polysaccharides from a Sea-Ice Bacterium Through Analog Icy Moon Plume Ejection. 通过模拟月球冰羽喷射评估海冰细菌中多糖的保存。

IF 2.3 3区物理与天体物理

Astrobiology Pub Date : 2026-12-01 Epub Date: 2026-10-07 DOI: 10.1177/15311074261494441

Georges Kanaan, Megan Stull, Alexandria Aspin, Mariam Naseem, Ziming Yang, Marc Neveu

{"title":"Assessing the Preservation of Polysaccharides from a Sea-Ice Bacterium Through Analog Icy Moon Plume Ejection.","authors":"Georges Kanaan, Megan Stull, Alexandria Aspin, Mariam Naseem, Ziming Yang, Marc Neveu","doi":"10.1177/15311074261494441","DOIUrl":"10.1177/15311074261494441","url":null,"abstract":"Detection of complex organics emitted from Saturn's moon Enceladus has intensified the search for biosignatures accessible to future missions. Extracellular polysaccharides (EPSs) from sea-ice bacteria such as Colwellia psychrerythraea are promising analogs for potential biosignatures due to their prevalence in cold, saline environments analogous to the subsurface oceans on icy worlds. Here, we investigate experimentally the effect of a direct transition from liquid to vacuum environments on the detectability and composition of EPSs from C. psychrerythraea 34H using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. EPSs from the bacterium were isolated and resuspended in solutions prepared with 1 wt. % NaCl and pH 9 to match properties inferred from enceladan plume grains. The primary monomers detected, including fatty acid methyl esters and sugars such as glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, and glucosamine, remained detectable after injection into the vacuum, with slight shifts in relative abundances. These findings support the potential for EPS detection in icy moon plume samples. Our analytical approach is comparable to that of gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer payloads planned for the exploration of Enceladus and Europa, which aim to characterize organic material in plume or surface ice. These findings highlight microbial EPSs as potentially viable biosignature candidates and inform the interpretation of future in situ organic detections on ocean worlds.","PeriodicalId":8645,"journal":{"name":"Astrobiology","volume":" ","pages":"1050-1056"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149126460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Ancient Endorheic Lake Basins: Promising Sampling Sites for the Tianwen-3 Mars Sample Return Mission. 古安多海湖盆地：“天文三号”火星样本返回任务有希望的采样地点。

IF 2.3 3区物理与天体物理

Astrobiology Pub Date : 2026-12-01 Epub Date: 2026-10-14 DOI: 10.1177/15311074261499439

Yi-Liang Li, Bo Wu

引用次数: 0

Oxidation of Photochemical Organic Hazes: A Prebiotic Source of Oxygen-Bearing Organics in Titan's Atmosphere and Early Earth? 光化学有机雾霾的氧化：土卫六大气和早期地球中含氧有机物的益生元来源？

IF 2.3 3区物理与天体物理

Astrobiology Pub Date : 2026-12-01 Epub Date: 2026-10-02 DOI: 10.1177/15311074261493349

Louis Maratrat, Maëva Millan, Valentin Moulay, Ludovic Vettier, Alex Abello, Caroline Freissinet, Nathalie Carrasco

{"title":"Oxidation of Photochemical Organic Hazes: A Prebiotic Source of Oxygen-Bearing Organics in Titan's Atmosphere and Early Earth?","authors":"Louis Maratrat, Maëva Millan, Valentin Moulay, Ludovic Vettier, Alex Abello, Caroline Freissinet, Nathalie Carrasco","doi":"10.1177/15311074261493349","DOIUrl":"10.1177/15311074261493349","url":null,"abstract":"Photochemical organic hazes such as those found in the atmosphere of Titan, the largest satellite of Saturn, are mainly composed of reduced chemical components. However, in these predominantly reduced atmospheres favorable to the formation of hazes, oxidized species can be produced transiently by one-off events such as surface impacts or via episodic outgassing of water ice particles. Due to their native reduced composition, organic hazes may interact with these oxidative species. This mechanism thus appears as a potential source of oxidized organics in Titan and more generally in hazy planetary atmospheres. To investigate the reactivity of reduced organic photochemical hazes, Titan's aerosol laboratory analogs (or Titan's tholins) have been chosen as a proxy. Two types of tholins were synthetized and systematically compared using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry: a tholin sample exposed to air and an air-preserved tholin sample. This approach allowed us to identify several oxygen-bearing species, mainly urea, oxalic acid, hydroxy-amino-1,3,5-triazine, and carboxylic acids. Mechanisms that explain the formation of these latter oxidized organics were proposed. Possible precursors for urea, oxalic acid, and hydroxy-amino-1,3,5-triazine were identified. These results provide new input in the discussion of the existence of heterogeneous oxidation of photochemical hazes in planetary atmospheres. Two cases are developed here: Titan and Hadean early Earth. In these two contexts, oxidation of photochemical hazes could have provided prebiotic matter as oxidized organics.","PeriodicalId":8645,"journal":{"name":"Astrobiology","volume":" ","pages":"1035-1049"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149103418","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Astroecology: Theory and Models of the Universal Structure and Distribution of Life. 天体生态学：宇宙结构和生命分布的理论和模型。

IF 2.3 3区物理与天体物理

Astrobiology Pub Date : 2026-12-01 Epub Date: 2026-10-14 DOI: 10.1177/15311074261499019

Jedediah F Brodie

引用次数: 0

A Detailed Characterization of Protocells and Solid Organic Films (SOFs) Forming in Miller-Urey-Type Spark-Discharge Experiments. 超越益生元汤：益生元放电实验中的固体有机膜和样细胞原形成。

IF 2.3 3区物理与天体物理

Astrobiology Pub Date : 2026-12-01 Epub Date: 2026-10-07 DOI: 10.1177/15311074261493395

Christian Jenewein, Fernando Rull-Perez, Marco Veneranda, Juan Manuel García-Ruiz

{"title":"A Detailed Characterization of Protocells and Solid Organic Films (SOFs) Forming in Miller-Urey-Type Spark-Discharge Experiments.","authors":"Christian Jenewein, Fernando Rull-Perez, Marco Veneranda, Juan Manuel García-Ruiz","doi":"10.1177/15311074261493395","DOIUrl":"10.1177/15311074261493395","url":null,"abstract":"The original Miller-Urey experiment demonstrated the abiotic synthesis of organic compounds under early Earth conditions, yet the physicochemical properties and internal organization of the associated insoluble solid organic films (SOFs) remain poorly constrained. Here we present a spatially resolved characterization of SOFs formed in prebiotic discharge experiments, focusing on their chemical heterogeneity, structural organization, and role in the emergence of hollow organic biomorphs. Using a combination of electron microscopy and spectroscopic techniques, we show that the insoluble SOF is a continuous but chemically heterogeneous matrix whose molecular composition varies systematically across the reactor as a function of local gas-liquid-solid interactions. Distinct regions of the SOF are enriched in aliphatic amine-rich polymers, aromatic carbon domains, cyanide-derived intermediates, and amorphous carbon, indicating that hydrogen cyanide (HCN)-derived chemistry evolves differently within specific microenvironments rather than proceeding uniformly throughout the system. We further demonstrate that spherical, caterpillar-like, and polyp-like hollow biomorphs preferentially emerge at hydrated interfacial regions of the SOF, thereby directly linking their morphogenesis to spatial chemical heterogeneity and phase-boundary chemistry in spark-driven systems. The SOF's capacity to shield chemically fragile solutes and emerging biopolymers through near-ultraviolet chromophore absorption, combined with its abiotic compartmentalization properties, suggests a potentially important role in abiogenesis.","PeriodicalId":8645,"journal":{"name":"Astrobiology","volume":" ","pages":"1020-1034"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149126442","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

A Proposal to Make Mars Sample Return a Collaborative NASA, ESA, and CNSA Effort. 一项让火星样本返回的提议是NASA、ESA和NASA共同努力的结果。

IF 2.3 3区物理与天体物理

Astrobiology Pub Date : 2026-12-01 Epub Date: 2026-10-12 DOI: 10.1177/15311074261499442

Yi-Liang Li

{"title":"A Proposal to Make Mars Sample Return a Collaborative NASA, ESA, and CNSA Effort.","authors":"Yi-Liang Li","doi":"10.1177/15311074261499442","DOIUrl":"10.1177/15311074261499442","url":null,"abstract":"Humanity's self-awareness drives the quest to understand the origins of life. Although Earth history has erased much of our planet's early biological evidence, Mars preserves ancient environments that may hold clues to life's emergence. Robotic explorations have confirmed that Mars once had liquid water and organic compounds, which suggests it was once habitable. However, definitive answers require analysis of pristine samples with advanced techniques in laboratories on Earth, which makes Mars Sample Return (MSR) missions a scientific imperative. NASA's Perseverance rover has begun caching samples, and China's Tianwen-3 mission plans a 2031 return. Yet NASA's MSR program faces cancellation, jeopardizing global efforts. Collaboration among NASA, the European Space Agency, and China's space agency may be the key to retrieving uncontaminated samples before human missions compromise them. A joint mission among these agencies could target the subsurface of an endorheic basin, where minerals such as magnetite may indicate recent vertical fluid cycles from the deep basin. Despite the low surface temperatures, hypersaline brines may transport subsurface microbes toward the martian regolith surface and carry fluids that could deposit authigenic minerals, enhancing preservation of mineral and organic biosignatures. International cooperation would maximize the likelihood of a successful mission, preserve the scientific integrity of samples returned to Earth, and offer humanity a unique opportunity to determine collaboratively whether life exists beyond Earth, fostering unity and shared progress in space exploration.","PeriodicalId":8645,"journal":{"name":"Astrobiology","volume":" ","pages":"1016-1019"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149163779","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Relevance of the Avalon Assemblage as an Astrobiological Analog for Icy Ocean Worlds. 阿瓦隆组合作为冰冷海洋世界天体生物学模拟物的相关性。

IF 2.3 3区物理与天体物理

Astrobiology Pub Date : 2026-11-05 DOI: 10.1177/15311074261505107

Marjorie D Cantine, Baptiste Journaux, Huw J Griffiths, Emily G Mitchell, Chadlin M Ostrander, Hannah R Cothren, Ula Jones

{"title":"Relevance of the Avalon Assemblage as an Astrobiological Analog for Icy Ocean Worlds.","authors":"Marjorie D Cantine, Baptiste Journaux, Huw J Griffiths, Emily G Mitchell, Chadlin M Ostrander, Hannah R Cothren, Ula Jones","doi":"10.1177/15311074261505107","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15311074261505107","url":null,"abstract":"We discuss the astrobiological potential of Earth's first animals--the nearly 600-million-year-old Avalon assemblage--and the relevance that these ancient communities may have for the search for life on icy or cold water worlds. The Avalon assemblage originated on deep, dark, salty, and cold seafloors with intriguing similarities to hypothesized icy ocean world habitats. These fossils provide an opportunity to study the signatures of entire communities of organisms that lived under conditions unlike those on Earth today. We discuss how information gleaned from the Avalon assemblage applies to the search for life on icy ocean worlds and explore how the physicochemical nature of their habitat could provide insights for astrobiology search strategies. Although the focus in astrobiology is on microbial communities, complex macroscopic life modifies its environment in ways and at scales that microbes cannot. The Avalon assemblage allows investigation of the circumstances under which such life emerged, clarifying the role of stochastic and probabilistic processes in evolution. Avalonian communities and their paleoenvironments capture the ecosystems of a world in transition from microbe- to animal-dominated, illuminating the potential changes driven by these first animals-and their potentially detectable biosignatures. We close by framing questions that can leverage insights from the Avalon assemblage for biosignature detection and identify research opportunities for further exploration.","PeriodicalId":8645,"journal":{"name":"Astrobiology","volume":" ","pages":"15311074261505107"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149340485","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Peptides at Vesicle and Mineral Prebiotic Interfaces. 肽在囊泡和矿物质益生元界面。

IF 2.3 3区物理与天体物理

Astrobiology Pub Date : 2026-11-02 DOI: 10.1177/15311074261502813

Ivan Cherepashuk, Mikhail Makarov, Radko Soucek, Vaclav Verner, Robin Krystufek, Romana Hadravova, Valerio Guido Giacobelli, Kosuke Fujishima, Sean F Jordan, Liam M Longo, Klara Hlouchova

{"title":"Peptides at Vesicle and Mineral Prebiotic Interfaces.","authors":"Ivan Cherepashuk, Mikhail Makarov, Radko Soucek, Vaclav Verner, Robin Krystufek, Romana Hadravova, Valerio Guido Giacobelli, Kosuke Fujishima, Sean F Jordan, Liam M Longo, Klara Hlouchova","doi":"10.1177/15311074261502813","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/15311074261502813","url":null,"abstract":"The origin of life likely involved a complex interplay between organic molecules and mineral surfaces, yet the molecular details of these interactions remain poorly understood. Over recent decades, considerable research has focused on the individual roles of key biomolecules-such as RNA, lipids, and proteins-in early abiogenesis. As the emergence of life likely involved networks of molecular interactions that collectively shaped early functional assemblies, we focused our study on examination of the ability of peptides-arguably one of the most abundant early polymers-to interact with mineral surfaces and lipid vesicles, which served as proxies for prebiotic interfaces and compartments, respectively. Using peptide libraries constructed from either prebiotically plausible or contemporary amino acids, we demonstrated that while acidic residues drive peptide binding to mineral surfaces (such as to fluorapatite surfaces, studied here), the inclusion of arginine-a basic residue that may have been accessible in specific prebiotic environments-can synergistically enhance the mobilization of bioavailable phosphate from geological reservoirs. Furthermore, we observed a functional divergence in vesicle interactions: While prebiotic alphabets promoted dynamic membrane behaviors such as budding, libraries with \"late\" canonical amino acids helped preserve vesicle integrity against salt-induced collapse. Our findings support the hypothesis that interactions with peptides can elicit changes in both prebiotically relevant minerals and vesicles, which underscores the importance of studying these features as components of a system. Key Words: Origins of life-Peptides-Minerals-Vesicles-Prebiotic compartments-Amino acid alphabet evolution. Astrobiology xx, xxx-xxx.","PeriodicalId":8645,"journal":{"name":"Astrobiology","volume":" ","pages":"15311074261502813"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3,"publicationDate":"2026-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149317534","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"物理与天体物理","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0