Under copyright Constraint(s) on Use: This work is protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). Use of this work beyond that allowed by "fair use" or any license applied to this work requires written permission of the copyright holder(s). Responsibility for obtaining permissions and any use and distribution of this work rests exclusively with the user and not the UC San Diego Library. Inquiries can be made to the UC San Diego Library program having custody of the work. Use: This work is available from the UC San Diego Library. This digital copy of the work is intended to support research, teaching, and private study.
Rights Holder and Contact
UC Regents
Description
Publication abstract: Astrobiology studies are a top priority in answering one of the most fundamental questions in planetary science: is there life beyond Earth? Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus is a prime target in the search for life in our solar system, identified by NASA as the second-highest priority site for a flagship mission in the next decade. The orbital sampling technique of impact ionization mass spectrometry indicated the presence of complex organics in the small icy plume particles ejected by Enceladus encountered previously by Cassini. However, high interaction velocities caused ambiguity as to the origin and identity of the organics. Laboratory validation of this technique is needed to show that biosignature molecules can survive an impact at hypervelocity speeds for detection. Here we present results on the hypervelocity impact of organic-laden submicron ice grains for in-situ mass spectrometric characterization with the first technique to accurately replicate this plume sampling scenario: the Hypervelocity Ice Grain Impact Mass Spectrometer. Our results show good agreement with Cassini data at comparable compositions. We show that amino acids entrained in ice grains can be detected intact after impact at speeds up to 4.2 km/s and that salt reduces their detectability, validating the predictions from other model systems. Our results provide a benchmark for this orbital sampling method to successfully detect signs of life and for the interpretation of past and future data. This work has implications not only for a potential Enceladus mission but also for the forthcoming Europa Clipper mission. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration grant 80NM0018D0004 Air Force Office of Scientific Research award MURI-22 FA9550-22-1-0199. Research Data Curation Program, UC San Diego, La Jolla, 92093-0175 (https://lib.ucsd.edu/rdcp) Burke, Sally; Auvil, Zachary; Hanold, Karl; Continetti, Robert (2023). Data from: Detection of Intact Amino Acids with a Hypervelocity Ice Grain Impact Mass Spectrometer. In Center for Aerosol Impacts on Chemistry of the Environment (CAICE). UC San Diego Library Digital Collections. https://doi.org/10.6075/J0GQ6XXK This package contains a zipped data file with four folders: raw HIGIMS data, processed HIGIMS data, processed CDMS data, and MatLab Analysis Codes. One data dictionary file is provided that explains what data is contained within each file in each folder.
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
