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Chemical Evolution of Organic Molecules in Solar System Small Bodies
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Chemical Evolution of Organic Molecules in Solar System Small Bodies

A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Astrobiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (18 June 2020) | Viewed by 29010

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Hikaru Yabuta

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Earth and Planetary Systems Science, Hiroshima University, Kagamiyama 1-3-1, Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan
Interests: origin and chemical evolution of organic molecules in meteorites, comets, and cosmic dusts; solar system small bodies explorations
Dr. Joseph A. Nuth III

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Solar System Exploration Division, Code 690, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
Interests: Photochemistry; XRF and Electron Microprobe Analysis of Geochemical Materials; High Temperature Chemistry, Nucleation Phenomena; Circumstellar, Interstellar and Interplanetary Dust; Microgravity Science, Meteoritics
Dr. Ernesto Palomba

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) - Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology (IAPS), Roma, Italy
Interests: Planetary Science; Space Technology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In 1969, after the Murchison carbonaceous meteorite fall, the research field on organic molecules in meteorites was established with the search for the origins of life in the universe. Many kinds of molecules of biochemical interest, as well as complex macromolecules, were identified from the meteorite in the first thirty years. At the beginning of 21st century, with the integration of astronomy and cosmochemistry, this research trend broadened to an extensive view that organic molecules in meteorites record the chemical history of the early Solar System from interstellar clouds. In particular, relationships between molecular and isotopic variations of organic molecules in various meteorite types and physicochemical processes of meteorite parent bodies have been unveiled. Since the Stardust spacecraft returned 81P/Wild2 cometary dust in 2006, the development of the analytical techniques for micron-sized samples, e.g., not only meteorites but also interplanetary dust particles and Antarctic micrometeorites, has enabled our acquisition of organics–minerals associations as well as the most primitive records in the early Solar System. The Rosetta mission has been successfully able to connect the nm- to μm-scale compositions of the cometary materials to the km-scale of dynamical activity and geology of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Most recently, two carbonaceous asteroid sample return missions, Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-REx, are ongoing.

On the occasion of a 50th anniversary milestone and a new chapter in the studies on organic molecules in space, this Special Issue aims to obtain new insights on the formation of the building blocks of planets and life by integrating the results from sample analyses and observations of various types of small bodies (meteorites, asteroids, comets, dwarf planets, IDPs, and AMMs), past small body explorations, and laboratory experiments. Young scientists and students are encouraged to submit their manuscripts in this field. Papers of future small body mission concepts are also welcome.

Prof. Dr. Hikaru Yabuta
Dr. Joseph A. Nuth III
Dr. Ernesto Palomba
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Organic molecules in space
  • Origin and chemical evolution of Solar System
  • Asteroids
  • Comets
  • Meteorites
  • Interplanetary dust particles
  • Antarctic micrometeorites
  • Space explorations
  • Sample return
  • Development of analytical methods

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 4774 KiB  
Article
Organic Material on Ceres: Insights from Visible and Infrared Space Observations
by Andrea Raponi, Maria Cristina De Sanctis, Filippo Giacomo Carrozzo, Mauro Ciarniello, Batiste Rousseau, Marco Ferrari, Eleonora Ammannito, Simone De Angelis, Vassilissa Vinogradoff, Julie C. Castillo-Rogez, Federico Tosi, Alessandro Frigeri, Michelangelo Formisano, Francesca Zambon, Carol A. Raymond and Christopher T. Russell
Life 2021, 11(1), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11010009 - 24 Dec 2020
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4179
Abstract
The NASA/Dawn mission has acquired unprecedented measurements of the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres, the composition of which is a mixture of ultra-carbonaceous material, phyllosilicates, carbonates, organics, Fe-oxides, and volatiles as determined by remote sensing instruments including the VIR imaging spectrometer. We [...] Read more.
The NASA/Dawn mission has acquired unprecedented measurements of the surface of the dwarf planet Ceres, the composition of which is a mixture of ultra-carbonaceous material, phyllosilicates, carbonates, organics, Fe-oxides, and volatiles as determined by remote sensing instruments including the VIR imaging spectrometer. We performed a refined analysis merging visible and infrared observations of Ceres’ surface for the first time. The overall shape of the combined spectrum suggests another type of silicate not previously considered, and we confirmed a large abundance of carbon material. More importantly, by analyzing the local spectra of the organic-rich region of the Ernutet crater, we identified a reddening in the visible range, strongly correlated to the aliphatic signature at 3.4 µm. Similar reddening was found in the bright material making up Cerealia Facula in the Occator crater. This implies that organic material might be present in the source of the faculae, where brines and organics are mixed in an environment that may be favorable for prebiotic chemistry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical Evolution of Organic Molecules in Solar System Small Bodies)
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18 pages, 6442 KiB  
Article
Did a Complex Carbon Cycle Operate in the Inner Solar System?
by Joseph A. Nuth, Frank T. Ferguson, Hugh G. M. Hill and Natasha M. Johnson
Life 2020, 10(9), 206; https://doi.org/10.3390/life10090206 - 16 Sep 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2760
Abstract
Solids in the interstellar medium consist of an intimate mixture of silicate and carbonaceous grains. Because 99% of silicates in meteorites were reprocessed at high temperatures in the inner regions of the Solar Nebula, we propose that similar levels of heating of carbonaceous [...] Read more.
Solids in the interstellar medium consist of an intimate mixture of silicate and carbonaceous grains. Because 99% of silicates in meteorites were reprocessed at high temperatures in the inner regions of the Solar Nebula, we propose that similar levels of heating of carbonaceous materials in the oxygen-rich Solar Nebula would have converted nearly all carbon in dust and grain coatings to CO. We discuss catalytic experiments on a variety of grain surfaces that not only produce gas phase species such as CH4, C2H6, C6H6, C6H5OH, or CH3CN, but also produce carbonaceous solids and fibers that would be much more readily incorporated into growing planetesimals. CH4 and other more volatile products of these surface-mediated reactions were likely transported outwards along with chondrule fragments and small Calcium Aluminum-rich Inclusions (CAIs) to enhance the organic content in the outer regions of the nebula where comets formed. Carbonaceous fibers formed on the surfaces of refractory oxides may have significantly improved the aggregation efficiency of chondrules and CAIs. Carbonaceous fibers incorporated into chondritic parent bodies might have served as the carbon source for the generation of more complex organic species during thermal or hydrous metamorphic processes on the evolving asteroid. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical Evolution of Organic Molecules in Solar System Small Bodies)
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13 pages, 7590 KiB  
Article
An Another Protocol to Make Sulfur Embedded Ultrathin Sections of Extraterrestrial Small Samples
by Takaaki Noguchi, Minako Takase, Rikako Matsumoto, Yoko Kebukawa, Hiroki Suga, Masashi Kondo, Yoshio Takahashi, Yasuo Takeichi and Hikaru Yabuta
Life 2020, 10(8), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/life10080135 - 5 Aug 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3860
Abstract
Another protocol to make sulfur embedded ultrathin sections was developed for STXM–XANES, AFM–IR and TEM analyses of organic materials in small extraterrestrial samples. Polymerized liquid sulfur—instead of low-viscosity liquid sulfur—is the embedding media in this protocol. Due to high viscosity of the polymerized [...] Read more.
Another protocol to make sulfur embedded ultrathin sections was developed for STXM–XANES, AFM–IR and TEM analyses of organic materials in small extraterrestrial samples. Polymerized liquid sulfur—instead of low-viscosity liquid sulfur—is the embedding media in this protocol. Due to high viscosity of the polymerized sulfur, the embedded samples stay near the surface of polymerized liquid sulfur, which facilitates trimming of glassy sulfur and ultramicrotomy of tiny embedded samples. In addition, well-continued ribbons of ultramicrotomed sections can be obtained, which are suitable for the above mentioned analyses. Because there is no remarkable difference in Carbon XANES spectra of Murchison IOM prepared by this protocol and by the conventional protocol, this protocol gives another alternative to prepare sulfur embedded ultramicrotomed sections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical Evolution of Organic Molecules in Solar System Small Bodies)
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Review

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27 pages, 13608 KiB  
Review
Organic Matter in Cometary Environments
by Adam J. McKay and Nathan X. Roth
Life 2021, 11(1), 37; https://doi.org/10.3390/life11010037 - 8 Jan 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 5332
Abstract
Comets contain primitive material leftover from the formation of the Solar System, making studies of their composition important for understanding the formation of volatile material in the early Solar System. This includes organic molecules, which, for the purpose of this review, we define [...] Read more.
Comets contain primitive material leftover from the formation of the Solar System, making studies of their composition important for understanding the formation of volatile material in the early Solar System. This includes organic molecules, which, for the purpose of this review, we define as compounds with C–H and/or C–C bonds. In this review, we discuss the history and recent breakthroughs of the study of organic matter in comets, from simple organic molecules and photodissociation fragments to large macromolecular structures. We summarize results both from Earth-based studies as well as spacecraft missions to comets, highlighted by the Rosetta mission, which orbited comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko for two years, providing unprecedented insights into the nature of comets. We conclude with future prospects for the study of organic matter in comets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical Evolution of Organic Molecules in Solar System Small Bodies)
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14 pages, 2328 KiB  
Review
Organic Components of Small Bodies in the Outer Solar System: Some Results of the New Horizons Mission
by Dale P. Cruikshank, Yvonne J. Pendleton and William M. Grundy
Life 2020, 10(8), 126; https://doi.org/10.3390/life10080126 - 28 Jul 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4242
Abstract
The close encounters of the Pluto–Charon system and the Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth (formerly 2014 MU69) by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft in 2015 and 2019, respectively, have given new perspectives on the most distant planetary bodies yet explored. These bodies are [...] Read more.
The close encounters of the Pluto–Charon system and the Kuiper Belt object Arrokoth (formerly 2014 MU69) by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft in 2015 and 2019, respectively, have given new perspectives on the most distant planetary bodies yet explored. These bodies are key indicators of the composition, chemistry, and dynamics of the outer regions of the Solar System’s nascent environment. Pluto and Charon reveal characteristics of the largest Kuiper Belt objects formed in the dynamically evolving solar nebula inward of ~30 AU, while the much smaller Arrokoth is a largely undisturbed relic of accretion at ~45 AU. The surfaces of Pluto and Charon are covered with volatile and refractory ices and organic components, and have been shaped by geological activity. On Pluto, N2, CO and CH4 are exchanged between the atmosphere and surface as gaseous and condensed phases on diurnal, seasonal and longer timescales, while Charon’s surface is primarily inert H2O ice with an ammoniated component and a polar region colored with a macromolecular organic deposit. Arrokoth is revealed as a fused binary body in a relatively benign space environment where it originated and has remained for the age of the Solar System. Its surface is a mix of CH3OH ice, a red-orange pigment of presumed complex organic material, and possibly other undetected components. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chemical Evolution of Organic Molecules in Solar System Small Bodies)
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