Gridmapping the northern plains of Mars: Geomorphological, Radar and Water-Equivalent Hydrogen results from Arcadia Plantia

A project of mapping ice-related landforms was undertaken to understand the role of sub-surface ice in the northern plains. This work is the first continuous regional mapping from CTX (“ConTeXt Camera”, 6 m/pixel; Malin et al., 2007) imagery in Arcadia Planitia along a strip 300 km across stretching from 30°N to 80°N centred on the 170° West line of longitude. The distribution and morphotypes of these landforms were used to understand the permafrost cryolithology. The mantled and textured signatures occur almost ubiquitously between 35° N and 78° N and have a positive spatial correlation with inferred ice stability based on thermal modelling, neutron spectroscopy and radar data. The degradational features into the LDM (Latitude Dependent Mantle) include pits, scallops and 100 m polygons and provide supporting evidence for sub-surface ice and volatile loss between 35-70° N in Arcadia with the mantle between 70-78° N appearing much more intact. Pitted terrain appears to be much more pervasive in Arcadia than in Acidalia and Utopia suggesting that the Arcadia study area had more wide-spread near-surface sub-surface ice, and thus was more susceptible to pitting, or that the ice was less well-buried by sediments. Correlations with ice stability models suggest that lack of pits north of 65-70° N could indicate a relatively young age (~1Ma), however this could also be explained through regional variations in degradation rates. The deposition of the LDM is consistent with an airfall hypothesis however there appears to be substantial evidence for fluvial processes in southern Arcadia with older, underlying processes being equally dominant with the LDM and degradation thereof in shaping the landscape

Small impact cratering processes produce distinctive charcoal assemblages

The frequency of crater-producing asteroid impacts on Earth is not known. Of the predicted Holocene asteroid impact craters of <200 m diameter, only ~30% have been located. Until now there has been no way to distinguish them from “normal” terrestrial structures unless pieces of iron meteorites were found nearby. We show that the reflective properties of charcoal found in the proximal ejecta of small impact craters are distinct from those produced by wildfires. Impact-produced charcoals and wildfire charcoals must derive from different heating regimes. We suggest that charcoal with specific reflective properties may help to recognize the meteoritic origin of small craters.Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant ImpChar, agreement no. 749157; the 2016 Barringer Family Fund for Meteorite Impact Research (Arizona, USA); National Science Centre Poland grants 2020/39/D/ST10/02675 and 2013/09/B/ST10/01666

Laboratory analysis of returned samples from the AMADEE-18 Mars analog mission

Between 01-28. February 2018, the Austrian Space Forum, in cooperation with the Oman Astronomical Society and research teams from 25 nations conducted the AMADEE-18 mission, a human-robotic Mars expedition simulation in the Dhofar region in the Sultanate of Oman As a part of the AMADEE-18 simulated Mars human exploration mission, the Remote Science Support team performed analysis of the Dhofar area, (Oman) in order to characterize it as a potential Mars analog site. The main motivation of this research was to study and register selected samples collected by the analog astronauts during the AMADEE-18 mission with laboratory analytical methods and techniques comparable to the techniques that will be used on Mars in the future. The 25 samples representing unconsolidated sediments obtained during the simulated mission were studied by using optical microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy, and laser-induced fluorescence. The principal results showed the existence of minerals and the detection of alteration processes related to volcanism, hydrothermalism, and weathering. The analogy between the Dhofar region and the Eridana Basin region of Mars is clearly noticeable, particularly as an analog for secondary minerals formed in a hydrothermal seafloor volcanic-sedimentary environment. The synergy between the techniques used in the present work provides a solid basis for the geochemical analyses and organic detection in the context of future human-robotic Mars expeditions. AMADEE-18 has been a prime test bed for geoscientific workflows with astrobiological relevance and has provided valuable insights for future space missions

The COST Action "Origin and Evolution of Life on Earth and in the Universe": An interdisciplinary research, training and outreach effort

The COST Action "Origins of Life on Earth and in the Universe" (2014-2018) is a multidisciplinary network involving around 170 researchers (many of them early career investigators) from 30 European countries. Research activities are coordinated by five working groups: • Understanding the formation and evolution of planetary systems and habitable planets • Searching for the origins of the building blocks of Life • Tracing the origin of life on Earth and finding its limits • Detecting life on other planets and its satellites • History and philosophy of science. Also, two teams: "Education and Training" and "Outreach and Dissemination" existed. Efforts of the Working Groups resulted in numerous peer-reviewed papers of which many were a direct result of >80 short term scientific missions funded by the Action. The bridging between natural sciences and humanities initiated by WG5 led to an international conference, a summer school and a White paper entitled "Astrobiology and Society in Europe Today". The Action has organised four major international conferences: "Habitability in the Universe: From the Early Earth to Exoplanets", Porto(PT), 2015 "From star and planet formation to early Life", Vilnius(LT), 2016, "Early Earth and exo-Earths: origin and evolution of life", Warsaw (PL), 2017 "Life on Earth and beyond: emergence, survivability and impact on the environment", Bertinoro(IT), 2018 Between these events, thematic workshops were held: "Missions to Habitable Worlds", Budapest(HU), 2015 "Evolution of chemical complexity", Liblice(CZ), 2016 EGU Galileo Conference "Geosciences for the Understanding of Habitability in the Solar System and Beyond", Azores(PT), 2017 Altogether, eight interdisciplinary training schools were organised by the action and mostly held at geologically interesting sites (Iceland, Karelia, Saaremaa, Azores, La Palma). They involved "real science" field work and attracted many early career researchers from different countries. The events received excellent feedback from participants. These schools inspired several teams of young scientists to perform follow-up expeditions leading to new cooperations and interesting scientific results. In addition, the Action supported the training schools "Rencontres Exobio pour Doctorants" covering the basics of astrobiology and obtained recognition by the IAU in 2016. Action members also successfully started an Erasmus+ strategic partnership "European Astrobiology Campus" devoted to optimising training in the field. Two large-scale dissemination projects were carried out: • Publication of the second edition of the "Encyclopaedia of Astrobiology" containing 3000 entries by more than 350 authors (many of them Action participants) and preparation of the third edition. • Design and translation into several languages of a travelling exhibition "River of Time" tracing the main stages of the history of our planet from the formation of the solar system until the emergence and diversification of life. The Action has also created several scientific databases, e.g. on biosignatures and pseudo-signatures and the reconstruction of the Martian paleoenvironment. Finally, another ongoing major networking effort is the preparation to launch a European Astrobiology Institute providing a long-term sustainable structure for the European Astrobiology community

The COST Action "Origin and Evolution of Life on Earth and in the Universe": An interdisciplinary research, training and outreach effort

International audienceThe COST Action "Origins of Life on Earth and in the Universe" (2014-2018) is a multidisciplinary network involving around 170 researchers (many of them early career investigators) from 30 European countries. Research activities are coordinated by five working groups: • Understanding the formation and evolution of planetary systems and habitable planets • Searching for the origins of the building blocks of Life • Tracing the origin of life on Earth and finding its limits • Detecting life on other planets and its satellites • History and philosophy of science. Also, two teams: "Education and Training" and "Outreach and Dissemination" existed. Efforts of the Working Groups resulted in numerous peer-reviewed papers of which many were a direct result of >80 short term scientific missions funded by the Action. The bridging between natural sciences and humanities initiated by WG5 led to an international conference, a summer school and a White paper entitled "Astrobiology and Society in Europe Today". The Action has organised four major international conferences: "Habitability in the Universe: From the Early Earth to Exoplanets", Porto(PT), 2015 "From star and planet formation to early Life", Vilnius(LT), 2016, "Early Earth and exo-Earths: origin and evolution of life", Warsaw (PL), 2017 "Life on Earth and beyond: emergence, survivability and impact on the environment", Bertinoro(IT), 2018 Between these events, thematic workshops were held: "Missions to Habitable Worlds", Budapest(HU), 2015 "Evolution of chemical complexity", Liblice(CZ), 2016 EGU Galileo Conference "Geosciences for the Understanding of Habitability in the Solar System and Beyond", Azores(PT), 2017 Altogether, eight interdisciplinary training schools were organised by the action and mostly held at geologically interesting sites (Iceland, Karelia, Saaremaa, Azores, La Palma). They involved "real science" field work and attracted many early career researchers from different countries. The events received excellent feedback from participants. These schools inspired several teams of young scientists to perform follow-up expeditions leading to new cooperations and interesting scientific results. In addition, the Action supported the training schools "Rencontres Exobio pour Doctorants" covering the basics of astrobiology and obtained recognition by the IAU in 2016. Action members also successfully started an Erasmus+ strategic partnership "European Astrobiology Campus" devoted to optimising training in the field. Two large-scale dissemination projects were carried out: • Publication of the second edition of the "Encyclopaedia of Astrobiology" containing 3000 entries by more than 350 authors (many of them Action participants) and preparation of the third edition. • Design and translation into several languages of a travelling exhibition "River of Time" tracing the main stages of the history of our planet from the formation of the solar system until the emergence and diversification of life. The Action has also created several scientific databases, e.g. on biosignatures and pseudo-signatures and the reconstruction of the Martian paleoenvironment. Finally, another ongoing major networking effort is the preparation to launch a European Astrobiology Institute providing a long-term sustainable structure for the European Astrobiology community