Investigation of Organic Chemical Evolution on Enceladus

Details Investigation of Organic Chemical Evolution on Enceladus Investigation of Organic Chemical Evolution on Enceladus

Dec 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006agufm.p13b0175o&link_type=abstract

American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2006, abstract #P13B-0175

Physics

6020 Ices, 6045 Physics And Chemistry Of Materials, 6055 Surfaces, 6280 Saturnian Satellites

Scientific paper

The recent discovery of water vapor plumes ejected from fissures near the south pole of Saturn's satellite Enceladus has generated considerable excitement and interest throughout the planetary science community. Present evidence suggests that the combination of a hydrological cycle, chemical redox gradient and a geochemical cycle exists on Enceladus that could provide favorable conditions for life under an ice-covered ocean (Parkinson et al. 2006). We have initiated a laboratory based investigation to identify and confirm the potential chemical pathways for the formation and degradation of organic compounds on Enceladus.
The surface of Enceladus is about 70 K, in equilibrium with the solar energy it receives. In the hot fissures, above where the water plumes arise, the temperature could be as high as 180 K. The surface is exposed to solar UV and energetic particles from Saturn's magnetosphere. Our approach is to study mixtures of water ice and species that have been identified or believed to be present on or near the surface of Enceladus (e.g., CO2, N2, CH4, C2H2, C3H8, NH3, CO, SO2, etc.;Waite et al. 2006; Hansen et al. 2006; Parkinson et al. 2006). Using a combination of analytical techniques (Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Mass Spectrometry), we will monitor chemical evolution in the ices as a function of simulated surface conditions such as temperature and irradiation dose (i.e., UV, electrons). Among the key questions we seek to address in the research program are, for instance, whether the observed chemical species are the end products of the degradation of biochemical molecules, and which compounds will be formed from the species known to exist on or near Enceladus when embedded within a crystalline water ice matrix. Preliminary results of these experiments will be presented.
References: Hansen et al., Science, 311, 1422, 2006; Parkinson et al., Astrophysical Journal, in review, 2006; Waite et al., Science, 311, 1419, 2006.
Acknowledgement: This research was carried out at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and funded through the Director's Research and Development Fund Program.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Investigation of Organic Chemical Evolution on Enceladus does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Investigation of Organic Chemical Evolution on Enceladus, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Investigation of Organic Chemical Evolution on Enceladus will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-961015