"In My Science class we are talking about the Milky Way, If we can't go outside the galaxy how do we know its a spiral galaxy?"
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (Titan)
Titan as a Prebiotic Chemical System
Principal Investigator: Mark Allen
Jet Propulsion LaboratoryThe NAI JPL-Titan Team will conduct an interdisciplinary investigation of prebiotic chemistry on Titan in the context of Titan’s physical environment to provide a basis for understanding the prebiotic chemistry of the early Earth. Although Titan is far from the Sun and hence cold, solar radiation interacts with the methane rich atmosphere to initiate the formation of complex organic molecules and aerosols that eventually deposit on Titan’s geologically active surface, where further chemical evolution leading to the origin of life could occur. The team’s work is organized into three themes:
Titan’s geology—places where organic chemistry can operate
- Geological places where atmospheric organics can react with water
- Extent of mixing between hydrocarbons and ice
The complexity of atmospheric organic chemistry
- Gas phase chemical composition
- Aerosol formation, composition, and transport
- In situ atmospheric chemical analysis approaches
The evolved chemical state of the Titan surface
- Reaction of organic compounds with water, ammonia, and mineral catalysts
- Solubilities and material properties in liquid methane/ethane
- Cosmic radiation chemistry in surface materials
- Surface sampling approaches and analytic protocols
October 1, 2008
- NASA selects new NAI teams through a competitive peer review process. The October 2, 2008 press release announces the fifth round of team selections since the Institute’s founding in 1998. Following selection, NASA executes 5-year Cooperative Agreements with each team's institution. It is expected that the newly-announced teams will begin their terms in early 2009.
- Press Release: NASA Selects New Science Teams for the NAI
- University of Hawaii
- Arizona State University
- Carnegie Institution of Washington
- Pennsylvania State University
- NASA Ames Research Center
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Icy Worlds
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Titan
