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Towards Determining Biosignature Retention in Icy World Plumes
Kathryn Bywaters1, Carol R Stoker2, Nelio Batista Do Nascimento2
1SETI Institute, Moffett Field, CA 94043, USA.
Life (Basel, Switzerland)
|April 23, 2020
Summary
Microbial cells ejected into space may not survive, but their lipid remnants could be detectable biosignatures. This finding is crucial for life detection missions targeting icy moons like Enceladus.
Area of Science:
- Astrobiology
- Microbiology
- Planetary Science
Background:
- The discovery of water plumes on Enceladus necessitates understanding microbial survivability and biosignature detection in space environments.
- Assessing the impact of space conditions on potential extraterrestrial life is critical for future life detection missions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally determine the survival rate and integrity of microbial cells ejected into a vacuum.
- To investigate the potential for detecting lipid biosignatures from surviving or degraded microbial cells.
Main Methods:
- Experiments involved ejecting microbial cells (E. coli) in liquid medium through a nozzle into a vacuum chamber.
- Epifluorescence microscopy with lipid staining and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were used to analyze cellular integrity and lipid presence.
Main Results:
- A 94% decrease in intact E. coli cells was observed after ejection into vacuum.
- Fluorescence residue in the shape of sublimated droplets indicated the presence of lipids, suggesting potential biosignatures.
Conclusions:
- Lipids may serve as directly detectable evidence of life in the plumes of icy worlds.
- Further research is needed to establish the concentration range of surviving cells in plume environments.
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