Searching for Life Across Space and Time Proceedings of a Workshop (2017) / Chapter Skim
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6 Future Directions: Report of Breakout Groups
6 Future Directions: Report of Breakout Groups
Pages 73-80
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From page 73... ...
The question each group had been given in order to guide them in their discussion was the following: How could targeted research over the next 5 to 10 years help advance the state of the art for life detection, including instrumentation and precursor research? IN SITU DETECTION OF LIFE AS WE KNOW IT Tanja Bosak of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
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From page 74... ...
The detection of life requires a spatially resolved analysis that combines multiple techniques. In a sample return mission, particularly from the outer solar system, the issue of how to preserve ices needs to be solved.
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From page 75... ...
The biggest difficulty, of course, would be detecting extinct microbes. The last topic Benner touched on was the possibility of searching for weird life on Earth.
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From page 76... ...
McElwain, and K.R. Stapelfeldt, 2015, Lower limits on aperture size for an exoearth detecting coronagraphic mission, The Astrophysical Journal 808:149.
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From page 77... ...
However, weird life allows for an expansion of the definition of "habitable." The habitable zone could be much wider and weirder. Examples include a planet outside the conventional habitable zone with a large greenhouse effect from H2, an ultra-cold ocean world (e.g., an ocean composed of water plus ammonia and salt)
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From page 78... ...
The other discussion item was to move beyond single-purpose instruments and instead move toward instruments that combine multiple experiments for biosignatures or that allow for the chemical analysis of specific samples identified through microscopy. Another commenter quipped that that's why we just need to send astronauts there to do analysis in situ or at least in a nearby analytical laboratory.
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From page 79... ...
Weird Life Shifting to the topic of weird life, another participant in the workshop wondered about the possibility of life on Titan. He said that there has been discussion about life using acetylene and hydrogen as nutrients and existing in hydrocarbon fluids instead of water.
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From page 80... ...
An audience member then finished the general discussion with a thought that it would be a great idea to design an app like the Star Trek tricorder to educate people on what biosignatures/biohints were. The general public could use it to learn about potential habitable environments or look at trace gases and minerals in the context of potential biosignatures.
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