Identification of biosignatures on Mars: the key to success of current and future rover missions

火星上生物特征的识别：当前和未来火星车任务成功的关键

• 批准号: 2721096
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University College London
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2721096
• 关键词: Identification; biosignatures; Mars; key; success

The search for life on Mars is currently focused on the detection of organic molecules on or beneath the planet's surface, trapped within mineral structures and ice particles. Of particular interest are ancient lacustrine environments highly suitable for the development of microbial communities and the preservation of biosignatures. In the late 2020s the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover will arrive at Mars, landing in Oxia Planum. Orbital observations suggest that a standing body of water would have covered almost the entire ExoMars rover landing ellipse and subaqueous episodes created a 10 km long deltaic fan. These environments and their subsequent sedimentary deposits are excellent locations for the collection, concentration, and preservation of organic material derived from both the lake environment and the surrounding catchment areas, and as such will be ideal targets for biosignature detection and the search for ancient life on Mars.To help the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover and to help interpret results currently being returned by the Mars2020 rover, we need to find and identify suitable astrobiological targets, which requires an integrated understanding of how and where we can identify biosignatures and their mineralogical host rocks, together with an expectation of the extent to which surface materials and frozen water will mask any organic molecular signatures present. The overarching goal of this proposed research project is to characterise astrobiologically relevant mineralogical targets to aid these rover missions and help us prepare for Mars Sample Return activities. It will include studies into the utility of ExoMars rover remote instruments, such as PanCam, to characterise these targets. These terrestrial-based analyses will be combined with in-situ Mars surface data from the Mars 2020 mission.

目前，在火星上寻找生命的工作主要集中在探测火星表面或表面之下的有机分子，这些分子被困在矿物结构和冰粒中。特别令人感兴趣的是古老的湖泊环境，非常适合微生物群落的发展和生物特征的保存。在本世纪20年代末，ExoMars Rosalind富兰克林漫游者将抵达火星，降落在Oxia Planum。轨道观测表明，一个静止的水体几乎覆盖了整个ExoMars探测器着陆椭圆，水下事件产生了一个10公里长的三角洲扇。这些环境及其随后的沉积物是收集、浓缩和保存来自湖泊环境和周围集水区的有机物质的绝佳地点，因此将成为生物特征检测和寻找火星上古代生命的理想目标。为了帮助ExoMars Rosalind富兰克林漫游车并帮助解释Mars2020漫游车目前返回的结果，我们需要找到和确定合适的天体生物学目标，这就需要全面了解我们如何以及在何处能够确定生物特征及其矿物学宿主岩石，同时还要预期表面物质和冰冻水将在多大程度上掩盖任何存在的有机分子特征。这个拟议研究项目的总体目标是寻找与天体生物学相关的矿物学目标，以帮助这些漫游者任务，并帮助我们为火星样品返回活动做好准备。它将包括研究ExoMars漫游者远程仪器的效用，如PanCam，以监视这些目标。这些地面分析将与火星2020使命的现场火星表面数据相结合。