"Hello, I have a question about Evolution on life. If we (humans) have existed for billions of years why is the Bible only two thousand years old?"
Welcome to the NAI Newsletter! The Newsletter is a compendium of announcements, events, updates, and news items related to the NAI and its research. If you have news items or suggestions you can send them to the editor, Marco Boldt at: Marco.Boldt@nasa.gov.
Newsletter for May 21, 2007
- Director's Corner
- NAI Announces Selection of New Teams
- NASA Primordial Polarization Program Definition Team - Representatives Needed
- NASA Explorer Program Announcement of Opportunity
- NAI Announces Two MIRS Sabbatical Awards
- NAI Scientists Receive High Honors
- 5/29 UW Seminar: Four Billion Years of Climate Change (Lessons from the Precambrian): From Oxygen Poisoning to Snowballs & True Polar Wander
- NASA Astrobiology Institute Field Workshop "Biosignatures in Ancient Rocks (BAR)"
Director's Corner
The NAI passed two major milestones in the last month: awards from the 2007 Director’s Discretionary Fund (DDF) and the selection of four new teams from the 4th Cooperative Agreement competition. The DDF awards entail a redirection of about 12% of the Institute’s research portfolio toward research and related activities with direct impact to NASA missions and programs. The selection of new teams establishes the foundation for moving into the Institute’s second decade.
The 2007 DDF competition emphasized impacting NASA's ability to achieve the agency's strategic goals. The call for proposals stated that this “strategic impact” could be on the implementation or planning of NASA flight missions, the development of synergies among different science programs, collaborations with other funding agencies, or new partnerships with industry or other private organizations. The response was fabulous. We received 36 proposals and were able to select and fund 18 for a total of over $1.7M. Eight of the selected proposals were for research and 10 for workshops or similar activities. Descriptions of all the selected proposals are at http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/ddf_2007/index.cfm
To give just a brief sample, the selected research proposals included the following:
- A group of investigators led by Danny Glavin of the NAI’s Goddard Space Flight Center team will establish a consortium called the “Astrobiology Sample Analysis Program (ASAP).” They will analyze a common set of Martian analog materials in a number of laboratories around the country including the labs developing two of the instruments that will fly on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission in 2009. The analog samples will include an Atacama Desert soil from Chile, the Murchison meteorite, a sulfate rich rock from the Svalbard Mars analog site, and a sample collected from an unknown site during MSL field testing. The analyses will provide ground truth measurements for in situ life detection instrumentation on future Mars missions.
- T.C. Onstott of Princeton, a member of the NAI’s Indiana/Princeton/Tennessee (IPTAI) team, is leading the formation of a network of organizations operating Mars environmental simulators. Coordinated studies of forward contamination and biogeochemical processes will be conducted in these chambers to identify processes potentially influencing the fate of biomarkers and microorganisms under simulated Martian conditions. The investigators will examine the survival of microbes and communities that resist radiation and tolerate low temperatures; the fate of biomarkers such as amino acids, lipids and hydrocarbons in the presence of hydrous sulfates as well as ultraviolet and heavy ion radiation; and forward contamination by a robotic minicorer sampler.
- Alexis Templeton of the NAI’s University of Colorado team will lead a US-Canadian group studying the geomicrobiology of a unique ice-sulfur spring ecosystem. The sulfur-rich springs, which flow through glacial ice at Borup Fiord Pass in the Canadian High Arctic, provide an excellent testbed for techniques to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa which also has sulfur compounds embedded in its icy crust. Analyses suggest that the ecosystem hosts a dynamic sulfur cycle, and that some indigenous sulfur-dependent microorganisms may be amenable to cultivation and molecular characterization. The study will elucidate how the chemistry and geological structure of Borup Fiord controls the metabolism and diversity of ice hosted microorganisms.
- Lou Allamandola will lead a group from the NAI’s Ames Research Center team conducting a proof-of-concept study for a novel instrument capable of detecting and characterizing a wide variety of materials on missions to bodies such as the Moon and Mars. The instrument, which would be deployable on a rover or lander, would be capable of measuring the laser-stimulated luminescence (fluorescence and phosphorescence) of a wide range of mineralogical, organic, and biological materials. The proof of concept study will involve stimulating luminescence using an ultraviolet-visible laser on a variety of test materials under simulated Martian and lunar conditions. The study is expected to provide fundamental data and demonstrate the feasibility of a Remote Photoluminescence Surveyor that could be developed for flight.
Among the selected workshops was one to investigate how microbial ecosystems might be used as “the canary in the coal mine” in remote sensing studies of global change. Organized by NAI Principal Investigators Mitch Sogin (Marine Biological Laboratory team) and Michael Mumma (Goddard Space Flight Center team) and Norman Pace of the University of Colorado team, the workshop will explore how biosignatures of microbial communities may be identified and used in remote sensing studies of the activities of those communities. The goal will be to integrate ground-based and remote sensing technologies to enhance our ability to monitor composition and functions of microbial communities, and thereby the health of the planet.
I expect that in the next year to year-and-a-half, during which these and the other selected projects will be carried out, there will be a steady stream of results highly relevant to NASA. Check our website and this Newsletter for updates.
The other major milestone was the selection of four new teams from the 4th Cooperative Agreement (CAN-4) competition, conducted in 2005-2006. That selection was delayed due to the budget cut to the astrobiology program that I’ve referred to previously in this column (see the Director’s Corner in the October 18, 2006 NAI Newsletter http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/newsletter/display.cfm?edition=2006-10-18#128). Our ability to make selections now is a tribute to the strong support of the new Science Mission Directorate Associate Administrator (AA) Alan Stern and his Planetary Science Division Director Jim Green. On his first day as AA, Alan allocated $1 million to the NAI that will pay for much of the new teams’ initial funding ramp-up. The teams will reach full funding in late 2008.
The distribution of the research that the new teams will conduct spans the breadth of astrobiology. The University of Wisconsin Team led by Clark Johnson will conduct research on the mineralogical biosignatures of microbial life. A focus of their research will be the development of stable isotope biosignatures for elements that are critical to life (e.g., C, N, O), as well as those that were involved in biogeochemical cycling or microbial metabolisms (e.g., S, Ca, Mg, and Fe) whose isotopic distributions may be preserved in the rock record.
The Caltech team will study astronomical biosignatures that are a counterpart to the geological biosignature focus of the Wisconsin group. This team, led by Vikki Meadows, continues the Virtual Planetary Laboratory (VPL) studies of the habitability and biosignatures of terrestrial planets around other stars begun under an earlier NAI Cooperative Agreement award. The team will build on existing models and tools to further explore the potential diversity of these distant worlds and identify planetary biosignatures that may be detected astronomically.
The focus on geological and astronomical biosignatures of the Wisconsin and Caltech teams is complemented by a geobiological focus of both the Montana State and MIT teams. The Montana State team, led by John Peters, will investigate a fundamental question about the origin of life: How did proteins containing iron-sulfur clusters come to have the importance they do in biological systems? Iron-sulfide compounds are common in both biological and geological systems. The adaptation of iron-sulfur clusters from the abiotic world to the biological world was potentially an early event in the development of life on Earth and may be a common feature of life elsewhere in the universe. The Montana State University Team will investigate and compare the physical and catalytic properties of iron-sulfur minerals and complex iron-sulfur enzymes. The studies will be aimed at identifying the factors that determine the catalytic properties of iron-sulfur cluster catalysts.
The MIT team, led by Roger Summons, will study an equally fundamental question about the development of life on Earth: What combination of genetic, environmental and ecological factors led to the emergence of complex multicellular life? Organisms with differentiated cells have evolved only six times: fungi; red algae; brown algae; twice in the green algae, including plants; and animals. The MIT team will study when and how these evolutions occurred. In particular, they will examine the interactions between the evolution of multicellularity and the composition of the atmosphere and oceans. This will not only help us understand a profound question about the origin of life on Earth, it will also help us understand what biosignatures to look for astronomically on a planet around another star that is at a similar stage in its development.
The tenure of the new teams will carry over beyond the terms of the current 12 teams, providing continuity to the Institute and forming the foundation for entering our second decade. Further details about all of the new teams and the rest of the Institute are available at the NAI’s website http://nai.nasa.gov. We extend a warm welcome to our new teams and look forward to exciting developments as the new teams and the DDF investigator groups begin their work.
Carl Pilcher
Director, NAI
NAI Announces Selection of New Teams
The NASA Astrobiology Institute is pleased to announce the selection of four new research teams to join the twelve current teams comprising the Institute. The new teams will be led from Montana State University in Bozeman, the University of Wisconsin in Madison, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, and the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. The research of these teams spans the breadth of astrobiology and complements the work of NAI’s existing teams, and includes research on the role of iron-sulfur compounds in the abiotic/biological boundary, the study of mineralogical and isotopic measurements as biosignatures, the emergence of multicellularity on Earth, and techniques to inform strategies for extrasolar terrestrial planet characterization. The selections were announced through a joint press release from NASA ARC and HQ on May 9th. Please join in welcoming our new members! http://nai.nasa.gov/about/can4selections.cfm
NASA Primordial Polarization Program Definition Team - Representatives Needed
NASA is seeking representatives of the astronomical community to serve on the Primordial Polarization Program Definition Team (PPPDT). Members of the PPPDT will work in collaboration with NASA Headquarters and the astronomical community to provide input for a space-based Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) polarization mission. The PPPDT will help provide technical input from the astronomy community on questions relating to the science mission and technology developments required for this investigation and will help disseminate information about such a mission to the community. Astronomers from the
U.S. and other countries are eligible for membership.
Interested applicants should respond with a short (approximately 2 page) letter and brief (approximately 1 page) curriculum vitae. This letter should provide a brief outline of experience the applicant would bring to the PPPDT and should identify aspects of the mission of particular interest to the applicant. To receive full consideration, responses must be received at NASA Headquarters by May 24, 2007. Applications may be e-mailed to Eric.P.Smith@nasa.gov. For further information may be obtained by contacting the NASA Infrared/Submillimeter Discipline Scientist, Eric Smith by email or phone (202)-358-2439.
NASA Explorer Program Announcement of Opportunity
NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) plans to release an Announcement of Opportunity (AO) for new Small Explorer (SMEX) missions and Missions of Opportunity in October of this year. The Explorer Program conducts Principal Investigator (PI)-led space science investigations in SMD’s astrophysics and heliophysics programs. It is anticipated that approximately six to eight full-mission SMEX investigations will be selected for 4-month Phase A concept studies through this AO.
Release of draft AO (target) – June 2007. Release of final AO (target) – October 2007. Pre-proposal conference – 3 weeks after AO release. Proposals due – 90 days after AO release. Selection for competitive Phase A studies (target) – 4 months after proposals due.
Further information will be posted at http://explorers.larc.nasa.gov/smexacq.html as it becomes available. Questions may be addressed to Dr. Hashima Hasan, Explorer Program Scientist, Science Mission Directorate, NASA, Washington, DC 20546; Tel.: (202) 358-0692; Email: hhasan@hq.nasa.gov.
NAI Announces Two MIRS Sabbatical Awards
The NAI Minority Institution Research Support (MIRS) Program is pleased to announce the selection of two faculty sabbatical research awards to Abel Mendez, from the University of Puerto Rico, Arecibo, and to Don Walter from South Carolina State University. The NAI-MIRS program, which is funded by the NAI, provides opportunities for researchers, from qualified minority serving institutions, to initiate joint partnerships with researchers in the field of astrobiology.
Abel Mendez will continue the development of a field instrument designed to model microbial growth in the dynamic temperatures of natural environments. Working with Chris McKay, at the NASA Ames Research Center, Mendez will measure growth rates of soil microbes in temperate and tropical climates. Mendez is a biophysicist and Assistant Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics and Chemistry at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, a Hispanic Serving Institution. Mendez's work focuses on defining quantitative ways to measure planetary habitability. He presented a poster last year at AbSciCon 2006 on planetary habitability and will also present a poster this summer at Bioastronomy 2007.
Don Walter will work with Mike Mumma and Michael DiSanti, at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Walter is an astronomer who holds the rank of Professor of Physics at SCSU, a Historically Black College/University (HBCU) located in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Walter's work this summer will include optical studies of emission lines from comets and will lead to the development of a program of sustainable cometary research at SCSU in partnership with GCA.
NAI Scientists Receive High Honors
Tullis Onstott of NAI’s Indiana-Princeton-Tennessee team was recently named to this year’s “Time 100,” an annual list of “the 100 men and women whose power, talent or moral example is transforming the world,” according to list-maker Time magazine. Onstott, a professor of geomicrobiology in the Department of Geosciences at Princeton University, investigates the physical and chemical limitations on subsurface Earth life, toward developing subsurface life detection strategies for Mars. http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/time100/article/0,28804,1595326_1595329_1615985,00.html
Additionally, Don Canfield of the NAI NASA Ames Research Center team was elected last week to the National Academy of Sciences. Canfield is professor of ecology with the Institute of Biology and director of the Nordic Center for Earth Evolution at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense. His work focuses on biosignatures in chemosynthetic and photosynthetic systems. http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=05012007
Please join in congratulating our members for their distinguished honors!
5/29 UW Seminar: Four Billion Years of Climate Change (Lessons from the Precambrian): From Oxygen Poisoning to Snowballs & True Polar Wander
Presenter: Joe Kirschvink
Date/Time: 5/29/2007 02:30 PM PDT
Despite a nearly 30% increase in Solar luminosity over the past 4.5 billion years, the geological record of glaciation appears to have increased, not decreased, over geological time. Investigations indicate that two of the three major Precambrian glacial intervals were exceptionally intense, with solid evidence for widespread glaciers flowing into the oceans on or near the Equator, well within the ice-albedo runaway's "Snowball Earth" zone. These glacial events are also associated with large perturbations in global geochemical cycles, which are reflected particularly well in carbon and sulfur isotopes. The first of these low-latitude glaciations in the early Paleoproterozoic (the Makganyene in South Africa) is also associated intimately with the first solid evidence of global oxygenation, including deposition of the world's largest sedimentary manganese deposit; this hints that the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis triggered the event by destroying a methane greenhouse. The subsequent low-latitude glaciations during the Cryogenian period of the Neoproterozoic happened about the time that the animal phyla were diversifying, which also suggests organisms were either involved or affected. However, this biological role is complicated by the recognition that large and rapid events of True Polar Wander punctuated Neoproterozoic time, and may have extended sporadically even into the Cretaceous.
For more information and participation instructions: http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/seminars/seminar_detail.cfm?ID=104
NASA Astrobiology Institute Field Workshop "Biosignatures in Ancient Rocks (BAR)"
A NASA Astrobiology Institute Field Workshop "Biosignatures in Ancient
Rocks (BAR)" will be held during September 18-28 in Ontario, Canada.
See the details at http://psarc.geosc.psu.edu/RESEARCH/New_Conference/Ontario_new.htm
Recently Published Research from the NAI
Ancient Organism Verified as Fungus
NAI scientists from the Carnegie Institution of Washington Team and their colleagues have a new paper in Geology outlining their process in resolving the mysterious identity of the Devonian fossil organism Prototaxities as a fungus. The team analyzed carbon isotopic ratios of the fossil relative to plants that lived in the same environment 400 million years ago.
Astrobiology EPO, Undergrads, Grads, Postdocs
2007 International Summer School in Astrobiology
NAI is offering ten full-funded scholarships for students who wish to attend the 2007 International Summer School in Astrobiology, Santander, Spain, July 2-6. The topic for this year's school is "Mars Exploration: The next ten years." The summer schools are co-sponsored by the Spanish Centro de Astrobiología and the NASA Astrobiology Institute. The application deadline is May 31. For more information, please see: http://nai.nasa.gov/UIMP/MarsExpl
