¹Pavol Matlovič, ¹Juraj Tóth, ²Regina Rudawska, ¹Leonard Kornoš
Planetary and Space Science (in Press) Link to Article [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2017.02.007]
¹Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
²ESA European Space Research and Technology Centre, Noordwijk, The Netherlands

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¹Andrew C. Schuerger, ²Doug W. Ming, ³D.C. Golden
Icarus (in Press) Link to Article [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.icarus.2017.02.023]
¹Dept. of Plant Pathology, University of Florida, 505 Odyssey Way, Exploration Park, Merritt Island, FL, 32953
²Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Office, Mail Code XI, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058
³ESCG, Mail Code: JE 23, Houston, TX, 77058
Copyright Elsevier

The search for an extant microbiota on Mars depends on exploring sites that contain transient or permanent liquid water near the surface. Examples of possible sites for liquid water may be active recurring slope lineae (RSL) and fluid inclusions in ice or salt deposits. The presence of saline fluids on Mars will act to depress the freezing points of liquid water to as low as ‒60 °C, potentially permitting the metabolism and growth of halophilic microorganisms to temperatures significantly below the freezing point of pure water at 0 °C. In order to predict the potential risks of forward contamination by Earth microorganisms to subsurface sites on Mars with liquid brines, experiments were designed to characterize the short-term survival of two bacteria in aqueous soil solutions from six analog soils. The term ‘‘soil’’ is used here to denote any loose, unconsolidated matrix with no implications for the presence or absence of organics or biology. The analog soils were previously described (Schuerger et al., 2012, Planetary Space Sci., 72, 91-101), and represented crushed Basalt (benign control), Salt, Acid, Alkaline, Aeolian, and Phoenix analogs on Mars. The survival rates of spores of Bacillus subtilis and vegetative cells of Enterococcus faecalis were tested in soil solutions from each analog at 24, 0, or ‒70 °C for time periods up to 28 d. Survival of dormant spores of B. subtilis were mostly unaffected by incubation in the aqueous extracts of all six Mars analogs. In contrast, survival rates of E. faecalis cells were suppressed by all soil solutions when incubated at 24 °C but improved at 0 and ‒70 °C, except for assays in the Salt and Acid soil solutions in which most cells were killed. Results suggest that Earth microorganisms that form spores may persist in liquid brines on Mars better than non-spore forming species, and thus, spore-forming species may pose a potential forward contamination risk to sites with liquid brines.

¹K. Righter, ²B.M. Go, ³K.A. Pando, ³L. Danielson, ³D.K. Ross, ⁴Z. Rahman, ⁵L.P. Keller
Earth and Planetary Science Letters (in Press) Link to Article [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2017.02.003]
¹Mailcode XI2, NASA Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Pkwy, Houston, TX 77058, United States
²University of Chicago, Dept. Geophys. Sci., 5801 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago, IL 60637, United States
³Jacobs JETS, NASA Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Pkwy, Houston, TX 77058, United States
⁴Jacobs, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058, United States
⁵Mailcode XI3, NASA Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA Pkwy, Houston, TX 77058, United States
Copyright Elsevier

Multiple lines of geochemical and geophysical evidence suggest the Moon has a small metallic core, yet the composition of the core is poorly constrained. The physical state of the core (now or in the past) depends on detailed knowledge of its composition, and unfortunately, there is little available data on relevant multicomponent systems (i.e., Fe–Ni–S–C) at lunar interior conditions. In particular, there is a dearth of phase equilibrium data to elucidate whether a specific core composition could help to explain an early lunar geodynamo and magnetic field intensities, or current solid inner core/liquid outer core states. We utilize geochemical information to estimate the Ni, S and C contents of the lunar core, and then carry out phase equilibria experiments on several possible core compositions at the pressure and temperature conditions relevant to the lunar interior. The first composition is 0.5 wt% S and 0.375 wt% C, based on S and C contents of Apollo glasses. A second composition contains 1 wt% each of S and C, and assumes that the lunar mantle experienced degassing of up to 50% of its S and C. Finally a third composition contains C as the dominant light element. Phase equilibrium experiments were completed at 1, 3 and 5 GPa, using piston cylinder and multi-anvil techniques. The first composition has a liquidus near 1550 °C and solidus near 1250 °C. The second composition has a narrower liquidus and solidus temperatures of 1400 and 1270 °C, respectively, while the third composition is molten down to 1150 °C. As the composition crystallizes, the residual liquid becomes enriched in S and C, but S enrichment is greater due to the incorporation of C (but not S) into solid metallic FeNi. Comparison of these results to thermal models for the Moon allow an evaluation of which composition is consistent with the geophysical data of an early dynamo and a currently solid inner and liquid outer core. Composition 1 has a high enough liquidus to start crystallizing early in lunar history (4.3 Ga), consistent with the possible core dynamo initiated by crystallization of a solid inner core. Composition 1 also stays partially molten throughout lunar history, and could easily explain the seismic data. Composition 2, on the other hand, can satisfy one or the other set of geophysical data, but not both and thus seems like a poor candidate for a lunar core composition. Composition 3 remains molten to temperatures that are lower than current estimates for the lunar core, thus ruling out the possibility of a C-rich (and S-poor) lunar core. The S- and C-poor core composition studied here (composition 1) is consistent with all available geochemical and geophysical data and provides a simple heat source and mechanism for a lunar core dynamo (core crystallization) that would obviate the need for other primary mechanisms such as impacts, core–mantle coupling, or unusual thermal histories.

¹Ann N. Nguyen, ¹Larry R. Nittler, ¹Conel M.O’D. Alexander, ²Peter Hoppe
Geochimica et Cosmochmica Acta(in Press) Link to Article [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2017.02.026]
¹Department of Terrestrial Magnetism, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington DC, USA
²Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany
Copyright Elsevier

We report the Ti isotopic compositions of 8 mainstream, 22 Y, 9 Z, and 26 AB presolar SiC grains from two SiC-rich residues of the Murchison CM2 meteorite together with Si, C and Mg-Al isotopic data for the same grains. Mainstream, Y and Z grains are believed to originate in asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars of varying metallicities, but the stellar sources of AB grains are poorly understood. We find that the 46,47,49Ti/48Ti ratios are correlated with 29Si/28Si for all of the grain types, indicating these ratios are mainly dominated by Galactic chemical evolution (GCE). The mainstream, Y and Z grains all show enrichments in 50Ti from neutron capture nucleosynthesis. However, AGB models predict smaller excesses in 50Ti (and 49Ti) than are observed in these grains. For Z grains and especially for Y grains, the enhancement of 50Ti is greater than the enhancement in 30Si, indicating that the 13C neutron source produced a greater total fluence of neutrons than the 22Ne source in the low metallicity parent AGB stars. The Z grains plot below the mainstream correlation lines at more 48Ti- and 28Si-rich compositions in plots of 46,47,49Ti/48Ti vs. 29Si/28Si. On the other hand, the Y grains plot close to the mainstream correlation line. This could imply that the Ti isotopes evolved non-linearly at metallicities below ∼1/3 solar. The AB grains in this study have Ti isotopic compositions that fall along correlation lines defined by the mainstream grains, suggesting origins in close to solar metallicity stars. However, these grains fall below the mainstream correlation lines in plots of 46,49,50Ti/48Ti vs. 29Si/28Si and do not show enhancements in 50Ti, indicating that their parent stars did not undergo significant s-process nucleosynthesis. These data support origins of AB grains in J-type C stars rather than born-again AGB stars that undergo s-process nucleosynthesis. AB grains that do not have 50Ti excesses may provide the best measure of Si and Ti isotope GCE since their parent stars were less affected by s-process nucleosynthesis than the mainstream grains.