The cuatro ciénegas basin in coahuila, Mexico: an astrobiological precambrian park

Abstract The Cuatro Ciénegas Basin (CCB) is a rare oasis in the Chihuahuan Desert in the state of Coahuila, Mexico. It has a biological endemism similar to that of the Galapagos Islands, and its spring-fed ecosystems have very low nutrient content (nitrogen or phosphorous) and are dominated by diverse microbialites. Thus, it has proven to be a distinctive opportunity for the field of astrobiology, as the CCB can be seen as a proxy for an earlier time in Earth's history, in particular the late Precambrian, the biological frontier when prokaryotic life yielded at least partial dominance to eukaryotes and multicellular life. It is a kind of ecological time machine that provides abundant opportunities for collaborative investigations by geochemists, geologists, ecologists, and population biologists in the study of the evolutionary processes that structured Earth-based life, especially in the microbial realm. The CCB is an object of investigation for the identification of biosignatures of past and present biota that can be used in our search for extraterrestrial life. In this review, we summarize CCB research efforts that began with microbial ecology and population biology projects and have since been expanded into broader efforts that involve biogeochemistry, comparative genomics, and assessments of biosignatures. We also propose that, in the future, the CCB is sanctioned as a "Precambrian Park" for astrobiology. Key Words: Microbial mats-Stromatolites-Early Earth-Extremophilic microorganisms-Microbial ecology. Astrobiology 12, 641-647.     

Comparative Metagenomics of Two Microbial Mats at Cuatro Ciénegas Basin II: Community Structure and Composition in Oligotrophic Environments

Abstract Microbial mats are self-sustained, functionally complex ecosystems that make good models for the understanding of past and present microbial ecosystems as well as putative extraterrestrial ecosystems. Ecological theory suggests that the composition of these communities might be affected by nutrient availability and disturbance frequency. We characterized two microbial mats from two contrasting environments in the oligotrophic Cuatro Ciénegas Basin: a permanent green pool and a red desiccation pond. We analyzed their taxonomic structure and composition by means of 16S rRNA clone libraries and metagenomics and inferred their metabolic role by the analysis of functional traits in the most abundant organisms. Both mats showed a high diversity with metabolically diverse members and strongly differed in structure and composition. The green mat had a higher species richness and evenness than the red mat, which was dominated by a lineage of Pseudomonas. Autotrophs were abundant in the green mat, and heterotrophs were abundant in the red mat. When comparing with other mats and stromatolites, we found that taxonomic composition was not shared at species level but at order level, which suggests environmental filtering for phylogenetically conserved functional traits with random selection of particular organisms. The highest diversity and composition similarity was observed among systems from stable environments, which suggests that disturbance regimes might affect diversity more strongly than nutrient availability, since oligotrophy does not appear to prevent the establishment of complex and diverse microbial mat communities. These results are discussed in light of the search for extraterrestrial life. Key Words: Cuatro Ciénegas-Metagenomics-Microbial mats-Oligotrophic-Phosphorus limitation-Stromatolites. Astrobiology 12, 659-673.     

Divergence and phylogeny of firmicutes from the cuatro ciénegas basin, Mexico: a window to an ancient ocean

Abstract The Cuatro Ciénegas Basin (CCB) has been identified as a center of endemism for many life-forms. Nearly half the bacterial species found in the spring systems have their closest relatives in the ocean. This raises the question of whether the high diversity observed today is the product of an adaptive radiation similar to that of the Galapagos Islands or whether the bacterial groups are "survivors" of an ancient sea, which would be of interest for astrobiology. To help answer this question, we focused on Firmicutes from Cuatro Ciénegas (mainly Bacillus and Exiguobacterium). We reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships of Firmicutes with 28 housekeeping genes and dated the resulting tree using geological events as calibration points. Our results show that marine Bacillus diverged from other Bacillus strains 838?Ma, while Bacillus from Cuatro Ciénegas have divergence dates that range from 770 to 202?Ma. The members of Exiguobacterium from the CCB conform to a much younger group that diverged from the Andes strain 60?Ma and from the one in Yellowstone 183?Ma. Therefore, the diversity of Firmicutes in Cuatro Ciénegas is not the product of a recent radiation but the product of the isolation of lineages from an ancient ocean. Hence, Cuatro Ciénegas is not a Galapagos Archipelago for bacteria but is more like an astrobiological "time machine" in which bacterial lineages survived in an oligotrophic environment that may be very similar to that of the Precambrian. Key Words: Firmicutes-Cuatro Ciénegas-Precambrian-Molecular dating-Western Interior Seaway. Astrobiology 12, 674-684.     

The Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment on the InSight Mission to Mars

The Rotation and Interior Structure Experiment (RISE) on-board the InSight mission will use the lander’s X-band (8 GHz) radio system in combination with tracking stations of the NASA Deep Space Network (DSN) to determine the rotation of Mars. RISE will measure the nutation of the Martian spin axis, detecting for the first time the effect of the liquid core of Mars and providing in turn new constraints on the core radius and density. RISE will also measure changes in the rotation rate of Mars on seasonal time-scales thereby constraining the atmospheric angular momentum budget. Finally, RISE will provide a superb tie between the cartographic and inertial reference frames. This paper describes the RISE scientific objectives and measurements, and provides the expected results of the experiment.     

Presolar Isotopic Signatures in Meteorites and Comets: New Insights from the Rosetta Mission to Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko

Comets are considered the most primitive planetary bodies in our Solar System, i.e., they should have best preserved the solid components of the matter from which our Solar System formed. ESA’s recent Rosetta mission to Jupiter family comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko (67P/CG) has provided a wealth of isotope data which expanded the existing data sets on isotopic compositions of comets considerably. In this paper we review our current knowledge on the isotopic compositions of H, C, N, O, Si, S, Ar, and Xe in primitive Solar System materials studied in terrestrial laboratories and how the Rosetta data acquired with the ROSINA (Rosetta Orbiter Sensor for Ion and Neutral Analysis) and COSIMA (COmetary Secondary Ion Mass Analyzer) mass spectrometer fit into this picture. The H, Si, S, and Xe isotope data of comet 67P/CG suggest that this comet might be particularly primitive and might have preserved large amounts of unprocessed presolar matter. We address the question whether the refractory Si component of 67P/CG contains a presolar isotopic fingerprint from a nearby Type II supernova (SN) and discuss to which extent C and O isotope anomalies originating from presolar grains should be observable in dust from 67P/CG. Finally, we explore whether the isotopic fingerprint of a potential late SN contribution to the formation site of 67P/CG in the solar nebula can be seen in the volatile component of 67P/CG.     

Dust Evolution in Protoplanetary Discs and the Formation of Planetesimals

After 25 years of laboratory research on protoplanetary dust agglomeration, a consistent picture of the various processes that involve colliding dust aggregates has emerged. Besides sticking, bouncing and fragmentation, other effects, like, e.g., erosion or mass transfer, have now been extensively studied. Coagulation simulations consistently show that \(\upmu\mbox{m}\)-sized dust grains can grow to mm- to cm-sized aggregates before they encounter the bouncing barrier, whereas sub-\(\upmu\mbox{m}\)-sized water-ice particles can directly grow to planetesimal sizes. For siliceous materials, other processes have to be responsible for turning the dust aggregates into planetesimals. In this article, these processes are discussed, the physical properties of the emerging dusty or icy planetesimals are presented and compared to empirical evidence from within and without the Solar System. In conclusion, the formation of planetesimals by a gravitational collapse of dust “pebbles” seems the most likely.     

Nucleosynthesis in Supernovae

We present the status and open problems of nucleosynthesis in supernova explosions of both types, responsible for the production of the intermediate mass, Fe-group and heavier elements (with the exception of the main s-process). Constraints from observations can be provided through individual supernovae (SNe) or their remnants (e.g. via spectra and gamma-rays of decaying unstable isotopes) and through surface abundances of stars which witness the composition of the interstellar gas at their formation. With a changing fraction of elements heavier than He in these stars (known as metallicity) the evolution of the nucleosynthesis in galaxies over time can be determined. A complementary way, related to gamma-rays from radioactive decays, is the observation of positrons released in \(\beta^{+}\)-decays, as e.g. from \(^{26}\mbox{Al}\), \(^{44}\mbox{Ti}\), \(^{56,57}\mbox{Ni}\) and possibly further isotopes of their decay chains (in competition with the production of \(e^{+}e^{-}\) pairs in acceleration shocks from SN remnants, pulsars, magnetars or even of particle physics origin). We discuss (a) the role of the core-collapse supernova explosion mechanism for the composition of intermediate mass, Fe-group (and heavier?) ejecta, (b) the transition from neutron stars to black holes as the final result of the collapse of massive stars, and the relation of the latter to supernovae, faint supernovae, and gamma-ray bursts/hypernovae, (c) Type Ia supernovae and their nucleosynthesis (e.g. addressing the \(^{55}\mbox{Mn}\) puzzle), plus (d) further constraints from galactic evolution, \(\gamma\)-ray and positron observations. This is complemented by the role of rare magneto-rotational supernovae (related to magnetars) in comparison with the nucleosynthesis of compact binary mergers, especially with respect to forming the heaviest r-process elements in galactic evolution.     

Optimization of low-thrust transfers in the three body problem

We consider transfers with low thrust in an arbitrary field of forces. The modified method of transporting trajectory [1–4] is used for optimization of the transfers. The complexity of finding the transporting trajectory of a preset type can be the main obstacle to application of this method. This challenge is solved for the three-body problem in the Hill motion model. Numerical analysis of the method is performed using an example of the transfers to halo-orbits around the solar-terrestrial libration points.     

Slow Solar Wind: Observations and Modeling

While it is certain that the fast solar wind originates from coronal holes, where and how the slow solar wind (SSW) is formed remains an outstanding question in solar physics even in the post-SOHO era. The quest for the SSW origin forms a major objective for the planned future missions such as the Solar Orbiter and Solar Probe Plus. Nonetheless, results from spacecraft data, combined with theoretical modeling, have helped to investigate many aspects of the SSW. Fundamental physical properties of the coronal plasma have been derived from spectroscopic and imaging remote-sensing data and in situ data, and these results have provided crucial insights for a deeper understanding of the origin and acceleration of the SSW. Advanced models of the SSW in coronal streamers and other structures have been developed using 3D MHD and multi-fluid equations.However, the following questions remain open: What are the source regions and their contributions to the SSW? What is the role of the magnetic topology in the corona for the origin, acceleration and energy deposition of the SSW? What are the possible acceleration and heating mechanisms for the SSW? The aim of this review is to present insights on the SSW origin and formation gathered from the discussions at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI) by the Team entitled “Slow solar wind sources and acceleration mechanisms in the corona” held in Bern (Switzerland) in March 2014 and 2015.