PMID- 21417945
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20110722
LR  - 20110322
IS  - 1557-8070 (Electronic)
IS  - 1557-8070 (Linking)
VI  - 11
IP  - 2
DP  - 2011 Mar
TI  - Preservation of martian organic and environmental records: final report of the 
      Mars biosignature working group.
PG  - 157-81
LID - 10.1089/ast.2010.0506 [doi]
AB  - The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) has an instrument package capable of making 
      measurements of past and present environmental conditions. The data generated may 
      tell us if Mars is, or ever was, able to support life. However, the knowledge of 
      Mars' past history and the geological processes most likely to preserve a record 
      of that history remain sparse and, in some instances, ambiguous. Physical, 
      chemical, and geological processes relevant to biosignature preservation on 
      Earth, especially under conditions early in its history when microbial life 
      predominated, are also imperfectly known. Here, we present the report of a 
      working group chartered by the Co-Chairs of NASA's MSL Project Science Group, 
      John P. Grotzinger and Michael A. Meyer, to review and evaluate potential for 
      biosignature formation and preservation on Mars. Orbital images confirm that 
      layered rocks achieved kilometer-scale thicknesses in some regions of ancient 
      Mars. Clearly, interplays of sedimentation and erosional processes govern 
      present-day exposures, and our understanding of these processes is incomplete. 
      MSL can document and evaluate patterns of stratigraphic development as well as 
      the sources of layered materials and their subsequent diagenesis. It can also 
      document other potential biosignature repositories such as hydrothermal 
      environments. These capabilities offer an unprecedented opportunity to decipher 
      key aspects of the environmental evolution of Mars' early surface and aspects of 
      the diagenetic processes that have operated since that time. Considering the MSL 
      instrument payload package, we identified the following classes of biosignatures 
      as within the MSL detection window: organism morphologies (cells, body fossils, 
      casts), biofabrics (including microbial mats), diagnostic organic molecules, 
      isotopic signatures, evidence of biomineralization and bioalteration, spatial 
      patterns in chemistry, and biogenic gases. Of these, biogenic organic molecules 
      and biogenic atmospheric gases are considered the most definitive and most 
      readily detectable by MSL.
CI  - (c) Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
FAU - Summons, Roger E
AU  - Summons RE
AD  - Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute 
      of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA. rsummons@mit.edu
FAU - Amend, Jan P
AU  - Amend JP
FAU - Bish, David
AU  - Bish D
FAU - Buick, Roger
AU  - Buick R
FAU - Cody, George D
AU  - Cody GD
FAU - Des Marais, David J
AU  - Des Marais DJ
FAU - Dromart, Gilles
AU  - Dromart G
FAU - Eigenbrode, Jennifer L
AU  - Eigenbrode JL
FAU - Knoll, Andrew H
AU  - Knoll AH
FAU - Sumner, Dawn Y
AU  - Sumner DY
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Review
DEP - 20110309
PL  - United States
TA  - Astrobiology
JT  - Astrobiology
JID - 101088083
SB  - IM
MH  - Evolution, Planetary
MH  - Exobiology
MH  - Extraterrestrial Environment/*chemistry
MH  - *Mars
EDAT- 2011/03/23 06:00
MHDA- 2011/07/23 06:00
CRDT- 2011/03/23 06:00
PHST- 2011/03/23 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2011/03/23 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2011/07/23 06:00 [medline]
AID - 10.1089/ast.2010.0506 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Astrobiology. 2011 Mar;11(2):157-81. doi: 10.1089/ast.2010.0506. Epub 2011 Mar 9.