Returning to Europa: can traces of surficial life be detected?

Chela-Flores, J.; Kumar, N.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/2289/3738

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DC Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Chela-Flores, J.	-
dc.contributor.author	Kumar, N.	-
dc.date.accessioned	2009-03-18T06:51:47Z	-
dc.date.available	2009-03-18T06:51:47Z	-
dc.date.issued	2008-08	-
dc.identifier.citation	International Journal of Astrobiology, 2008, Vol.7, p263	en
dc.identifier.issn	E-ISSN: 1475-3006	-
dc.identifier.issn	P-ISSN: 1473-5504	-
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/2289/3738	-
dc.description	Restricted Access. 12 months embargo for IRs.	en
dc.description.abstract	There is at present a possibility for returning to Europa with LAPLACE, a mission to Europa and the Jupiter System for European Space Agency's Cosmic Vision Programme. The question of habitability by the identification of reliable bio-indicators is a major priority. We explain the options for approaching the question of selecting the right instrumentation for measuring the more abundant sulphur isotope, in spite of the fact that 32S is isobaric (same m/z) with 16O2. Two technologies are available for investigating the possible biogenicity of the surficial sulphur on the icy patches discovered by the Galileo mission. We argue that there is a need to use higher-order statistics in the data that are to be gathered with the instruments chosen for the payload (ion-traps for orbital measurements, or penetrators for surficial measurements). In particular, we argue in favour of data analysis taken from an orbital spacecraft that addresses fluctuations of the data retrieved, rather than the mean. For this purpose, we reconsider the significance of deviations of sulphur abundances relative to normal (meteoritic) values. In the present work, we consider the experimentally testable possibility of biogenically driven isotopic anomalies in the light of statistical data analysis. The fluctuation test that is being proposed in the context of future missions to Europa may well be appropriate to a laboratory experiment with sulphur-reducing bacteria with the corresponding isotopic fractionation.	en
dc.language.iso	en	en
dc.publisher	Cambridge University Press	en
dc.relation.uri	http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1473550408004242	en
dc.rights	2008 Cambridge University	en
dc.subject	Europa	en
dc.subject	search for life	en
dc.subject	biosignatures	en
dc.subject	penetrators	en
dc.subject	ion-traps	en
dc.subject	biogeochemistry	en
dc.subject	sulphur-reducing bacteria	en
dc.subject	LAPLACE mission	en
dc.subject	mass spectrometry	en
dc.title	Returning to Europa: can traces of surficial life be detected?	en
dc.type	Article	en
Appears in Collections:	Research Papers (TP)

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