The discovery of pyrene derivatives in a distant interstellar cloud may help to reveal how our own solar system formed.
organic chemistry
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Habitable Zones, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Simulated View of Thermal Emissions from Europa
Scientists based this image on a model of data from NASA’s Galileo mission and data from an instrument on NASA’s Cassini mission that studied warm regions of Saturn’s moon Enceladus […]
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Lava / magma ocean / Volcanic Worlds, Nanotechnology & SynBio, Press Release, ROVs/Submersibles/Diving, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
Ideas On Abiotic Organic Synthesis Based On Oceanic Crust Findings
Recently, a Chinese research team reported the discovery of abiotic organic compounds in the oceanic crust of the Southwest Indian Ridge and proposed a molecular mechanism for organic condensation.
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Enceladus, Europa, Ganymede, Gas Giants, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Io, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Neptune, Saturn, Status Report, Titan, Uranus
Sulfur in the Giant Planets, their Moons, and Extrasolar Gas Giant Planets
We review sulfur chemistry of the gas giant planets and their moons where sulfur compounds are observed. The major S-bearing gas in the upper atmospheres of the giant planets is […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report
Infrared Spectra of Solid-State Ethanolamine: Laboratory Data in Support of JWST Observations
Ethanolamine (NH2CH2CH2OH, EA) has been identified in the gas phase of the ISM within molecular clouds. Although EA has not been directly observed in the molecular ice phase, a solid […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Exoplanets, -moons, -comets, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report
Evidence For Abiotic Dimethyl Sulfide In Cometary Matter
Technological progress related to astronomical observatories such as the recently launched James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) allows searching for signs of life beyond our Solar System, namely in the form […]
Posted inBiogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Europa, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Jupiter, Mapping, Geodesy, Cartography, Bathymetry, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Tricorders & Sensors, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography
SwRI-Developed Instruments Will Study Potential Habitability Of Europa
Two Southwest Research Institute instruments were launched aboard NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft on Oct. 14 from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center. The spacecraft is designed to conduct a detailed reconnaissance […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Unraveling Abiotic Organic Synthesis Pathways In The Mafic Crust Of Mid-ocean Ridges
The aqueous alteration of the oceanic lithosphere provides significant energy that impacts the synthesis and diversity of organic compounds, which are crucial for the deep carbon cycle and may have […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Genomics, Proteomics, Bioinformatics, Origin & Evolution of Life, Status Report
Pinpointing Conditions for a Metabolic Origin of Life: Underlying Mechanisms and the Role of Coenzymes
Famously found written on the blackboard of physicist Richard Feynman after his death was the phrase, “What I cannot create, I do not understand.” From this perspective, recreating the origin […]
Posted inAstrochemistry, Astrogeology, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Status Report
Phosphorus-rich Grains In Ryugu Samples With Major Biochemical Potential
Parent bodies of C-type asteroids may have brought key volatile and organic-rich compounds to the terrestrial planets in the early stages of the Solar System. At the end of 2020, […]