Publication Type Journal Article
Title Extraction of amino acids from soils close to the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), Utah
Authors Zita Martins M. A. Sephton B. H. Foing P. Ehrenfreund
Groups
Journal INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ASTROBIOLOGY
Year 2011
Month July
Volume 10
Number 3
Pages 231-238
Abstract Future space missions that aim to detect life should search for molecules that are vital to all living organisms. Although the Viking landers did not find any signs of organic molecules on Mars, signatures of past and/or present life may still exist in the Martian regolith. In this paper, we describe amino acid analyses performed in several Martian analogue soil samples collected close to the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS), Utah, during the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) EuroGeoMars campaign in February 2009. The Utah desert around Hanksville is characterized as shale desert and is cold and arid with an average annual temperature of 12 degrees C. It is subjected to wind erosion and was shaped by fluvial erosion. The data show large differences in the total amino acid abundances between all the collected soil samples, with values ranging from non-detectable to 100 000 parts per billion (ppb). These results are explained in the context of mineralogical differences (namely different clay content) among the soil samples. The data have implications for future life-detection missions and the target mineralogy that may host biological signatures.
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1473550410000431
ISBN
Publisher
Book Title
ISSN 1473-5504
EISSN 1475-3006
Conference Name
Bibtex ID ISI:000291609600008
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