1. PTYS 214 – Spring 2011  Homework #8 due today  Homework #9 available for download from the class website Due Thursday, Apr. 14  Class website: http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/undergrad/classes/spring2011/Pierazzo_214 /  Useful Reading: class website  “Reading Material” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viking_program http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/space/08/04/atacama.desert/index.html Announcements

2. Extra Credit Presentation Drew Carlson

3. The Search for Life on Mars Viking Mission, 1976: First successful landing of a spacecraft on the surface of another planet, and execution of biology experiments Two orbiters + two landers Cryse Basin Elysiu m Mons Hellas Chryse Planitia Utopia Planitia Olympus Mons Vallis Marineris

4. Viking Landers

5. Viking Biology Experiments 1.Pyrolytic Release (PR) experiment 2.Labeled Release (LR) experiment 3.Gas Exchange (GEX) experiment  Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS) was capable of detecting organics at a level of a few parts per billion (ppb)

6. Labeled ReleaseGas Exchange Carbon Assimilation (Pyrolitic Release) Single Sample Collector

7. 1. Pyrolytic Release (PR) or Carbon Assimilation Experiment Test for organisms that can use CO and CO 2  Martian soil was put in a chamber and exposed to a mixture of CO 2 and CO  CO 2 and CO were “labeled” with 14 C  Hypothesis: “If biota were in the soil it would incorporate some of the CO 2 or CO and convert it to organic material”  After some time: Heat the soil  break organic material  look for release of 14 C

8. 2. Gas exchange (GEX) Look for gases that might be given off by Martian biota  Martian soil was put into a chamber and mixed with plenty of different nutrients (amino acids, glucose, salts, vitamins, etc)  Look for H 2, N 2, O 2, CH 4, CO 2,and Ar, Kr (for calibration) released from the soil

9. 3. Labeled release (LR) Test for presence of organisms able to assimilate organic compounds from the environment and release back gas to the atmosphere  Martian soil was put into a chamber and mixed with nutrients (glucose and sulfate)  The nutrients were labeled by 14 C and 35 S  Look for gas release (especially CO 2 ) enriched in 14 C and/or 35 S

10. Evolution of radioactivity after nutrient injection from the LR experiment for Viking soil compared to Lunar and naturally sterile Antarctic soil Control experiments consisted in heating the sample at 160°C for 3 hours prior to injecting the nutrients

11. Viking Biology Results How does it look in terms of life on Mars? Experiments Response of sample Expected response for sample with biology Expected Response for no biology Response of heat-sterilized Control (no biology) GEX oxygen emitted oxygen emitted none LR labeled gas emitted labeled gas emitted none PR carbon detected carbon detected none

12. Viking Biology Results What are the control experiments telling us? Experiments Response of sample Expected response for sample with Biology Expected Response for no biology Response of heat-sterilized Control (no biology) GEX oxygen emitted oxygen emitted none oxygen emitted LR labeled gas emitted labeled gas emitted none PR carbon detected carbon detected none carbon detected

13. Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer Results ( each year, 2.4 x 10 8 grams of organic carbon is delivered to Mars by asteroids and comets )  With regolith mixing to a depth of 1 km, organics should be present at about 500 ppb No organics detected above the 10 ppb level  Well below the level expected if there were any active or even dead biota present  Even below the level expected for delivery of organics by asteroids and comets!

14. Viking Conclusions Important: multiple sets of experiments must be conducted to test for the presence of life  The Martian surface is rich in UV-produced inorganic oxidants at the ppm level, which tends to destroy any organics present and react with water and oxidants to produce CO 2 Example? Perchlorate (ClO 4 - ) discovered in the soil by Phoenix…  This reconciles the apparently contradictory results of the other Viking life experiments On the other hand...

15. Testing the Hypothesis: Atacama Desert, Chile  The oxidizing soil and hyper-arid conditions in the Atacama Desert are considered an analog for the Martian surface  Atacama desert soil was analyzed with a GC/MS similar to that used by Viking Navarro-Gonzales et al. (2003) Mars-like soils in the Atacama desert, and the dry limit of microbial life. Science 302, p. 1018 Oldest and most arid desert on Earth

16. Terrestrial Analogs Results  In the most arid sample, both formic acid and benzene were found when heated at 750ºC  But: temperatures of the Viking experiments did not exceed 500ºC...  Using the temperatures used in the Viking experiments, detection of formic acid was reduced by a factor of 4 and there was no benzene detected at all benzene formic acid

17. One more thing…  Surface soil from the Atacama desert showed no indication of life (no detection of DNA)  Yet, in soil few tens of centimeters below surface living organisms were detected!  Viking only used surface soil…

18. 1.Limited pyrolysis temperatures 2.Not possible to do ‘follow-up’ experiments 3.Soil samples limited to the surface 4.All three Viking’s experiments assumed that we would be able to culture potentially present Martian organisms  even on Earth only 1 in 100 organisms can be cultured at best Viking results do not rule out the possibility of life in the martian soil Is there another way to discover martian life? Limitations of Viking Experiments

19. ALH84001 has become famous because it appeared to contain structures that were considered to be fossilized remains of bacteria-like life forms Evidence for Life in Martian Meteorite(s)

20. History of ALH84001  Crystallization Age: ~4.5 Gyr old  Carbonate globules formed ~3.9 Gyr old  Rock remained on the surface of Mars until 16 Myr ago when it was ejected  It fell into Antarctica 13,000 years ago  Covered with snow and ice until 700 years ago  Recovered in 1984

21. Ovoid structures (20-100 nm) Carbonate globules (50-250  m) Magnetite crystals (Fe 3 O 4 ) Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

22. Arguments in favor of “life on Mars” from ALH84001 1. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can form as decay products of microorganisms 2. Magnetite crystals have structures similar to crystals produced by some terrestrial bacteria 3. Ovoid structures in carbonate globules are similar to terrestrial microbes McKay et al. (1996) Search for past life on Mars: Possible relic biogenic activity in Martian meteorite ALH 84001. Science 273, p. 924

23. ALH84001: Martian PAHs? 1. Contamination Problem : Most of the organic molecules (maybe even up to 80%!) could be contamination, including PAHs  Some Martian organic carbon is present in the carbonate globules (which were formed on Mars) 2. PAHs can be produced abiotically when impact generated gases (CO, CO 2, H 2 ) cool

24. ALH84001: Ovoid structures 1. The size of these structures is 20-100 nanometers, considered to be too small to contain even a single ribosome  On Earth, the smallest terrestrial bacteria (deep sea hydrothermal vent) is ~150 nm - viruses can be 20-400 nm but they are not independent organisms 2. These structures could have an non-biologic origin, maybe artifacts of sample preparation  We need more than just shape to characterize “fossils” of ancient living organisms

25. ALH84001: Magnetite Crystals On Earth microorganisms called magnetotactic bacteria (like MV-1) produce chains of tiny magnetic minerals But, similar grains can be made inorganically Bell (2007) Thomas-Keprta et al. (2000) Example: an impact event… Inconclusive!

26. Summary of ALH84001  The morphological fossils (“ovoid” structures) could be artifacts of sample preparation (more evidence is needed)  PAHs could have been produced by non-biological processes; there is strong evidence of terrestrial contamination for organic molecules in the meteorite  The magnetite grains can be made abiotically, such as during the impact even that ejected the rock from the surface of Mars! McKay et al. found fossil like structures in other Martian meteorites (Nakhla 1.3 Gyr and Shergotty 165 Myr)

27. Can Martian Biota “Hide” Below the Surface?  Primitive life is very resilient  On Earth we found that –Some bacteria can grow under -15°C (and lower) –Some bacteria have tolerance to extreme desiccation for long periods of time –Some bacteria live in rocks at substantial depth (>1 mile) and do not need light or O 2

28. Methane in the Martian Atmosphere Mumma et al. (2009) Science 323, p. 1041

29. What Does It Mean?  Martian atmosphere is strongly oxidizing: CO 2, N 2, Ar, CO, O 2, traces of H 2 O  CH 4 production by atmospheric chemistry is negligible  Normally, CH 4 in the atmosphere would be removed in less than 300 years; results suggest much faster removal (interaction with the soil)! Methane in the Martian atmosphere… …must have been released RECENTLY and from SUB-SURFACE RESERVOIRS

30. Sources of Methane  On Earth: −90% of atmospheric CH 4 is produced by living systems −Non-biological sources of CH 4 are related to CO 2 combining with H 2 O at high pressures and temperatures (like in the carbonate-silicate cycle), which requires volcanism or active plate tectonics  On Mars:  There is no plate tectonics nor indication of volcanism today! Stay tuned…

31. ~10 km Like Grand Canyon, Nanedi Vallis may have required millions of years to form Nanedi Vallis (Mars Global Surveyor) Grand Canyon Stability of the Martian Environment Could a CO 2 /H 2 O atmosphere have warmed early Mars above freezing? (after all Mars experienced major volcanic activity early on…)

32.  No plate tectonics without plate tectonics, the carbonate-silicate feedback breaks down, increasing CO 2 in the atmosphere  Increase of atmospheric CO 2 cause condensation and cloud formation  CO 2 clouds decrease the world’s albedo  Less solar radiation reaches the surface, warming the planet  A 30% CO 2 atmosphere would start to condense at 200K (- 73ºC) Problems… CO 2 alone does not work!

33. Alternate Possibilities for an Early Warm Mars  Additional greenhouse gas: CH 4 - hard to justify high levels of CH 4 on Mars  Liquid water occurs on Mars surface right after large impacts - some features required millions of years to form and warming effects from impacts do not last that long The mystery of a warm and wet early Mars remains unresolved …

34. Quiz Time !