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Title page Life on Mars? Modeling the subsurface radiation environment Lewis Dartnell CoMPLEX University College London Andrew Coates, MSSL John Ward, Biochemistry Laurent Desorgher, Bern
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Summary Astrobiology & Mars Radiation environment My research & computer model
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Mars today 6 mbar atmosphere, freezing surface temperatures, bone- dry surface sterilised by UV and cosmic radiation
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Refugial Life Could extremophile life persist beneath the surface, within pockets of liquid water…? Deep hot Biosphere on Earth. Methane plumes detected seeping out of ground.
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Space radiation
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Secondary cascades CGR primary produces extensive shower of secondary particles, with a core of hadrons (nuclear fragments, protons, neutrons) and pions within a spreading cone of the electromagnetic cascade (gamma and electrons) mediated by muon decay. Pfotzer maximum in Earth’s atmosphere at an altitude of ~60,000ft Flux diminished to ~1% at sea-level
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Biological effects Direct & Indirect, [O 2 ] & Temp. dependence E. coli B. subtilis D. radiodurans
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The Model
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Sites of interest
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Results I
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Results II
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Results III
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Results IV
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Final Goal Which sites should we send our landers to? How deep would they need to drill? Coming up… Persistence time of biomarkers Optically-Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating Lab work
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… questions ?
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