Morphological Biosignatures from Subsurface Environments: Recognition on Planetary Missions

Workshop on Instrumentation for Planetary Missions ( 2012 )

Introduction: The Juno mission is the second mission in NASA’s New Frontiers program. Launched in August 2011, Juno arrives at Jupiter in 2016 for a one year prime mission. Juno science goals include the study of Jupiter’s origin, interior structure, deep atmosphere, aurora and magnetosphere. Juno’s orbit around Jupiter is a polar elliptical orbit with perijove approximately 5000 km above the v...

Identification of morphological biosignatures in Martian analogue field specimens using in situ planetary instrumentation.

We have investigated how morphological biosignatures (i.e., features related to life) might be identified with an array of viable instruments within the framework of robotic planetary surface operations at Mars. This is the first time such an integrated lab-based study has been conducted that incorporates space-qualified instrumentation designed for combined in situ imaging, analysis, and geote...

Microbial Morphology and Motility as Biosignatures for Outer Planet Missions

Meaningful motion is an unambiguous biosignature, but because life in the Solar System is most likely to be microbial, the question is whether such motion may be detected effectively on the micrometer scale. Recent results on microbial motility in various Earth environments have provided insight into the physics and biology that determine whether and how microorganisms as small as bacteria and ...

Morphological biosignatures and the search for life on Mars.

This report provides a rationale for the advances in instrumentation and understanding needed to assess claims of ancient and extraterrestrial life made on the basis of morphological biosignatures. Morphological biosignatures consist of bona fide microbial fossils as well as microbially influenced sedimentary structures. To be recognized as evidence of life, microbial fossils must contain chemi...

Optimal Trajectories for Planetary Pole-Sitter Missions