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Conference on Life Detection in Extraterrestrial Samples Program and Abstract Volume LPI Contribution No. 1650 CONFERENCE ON LIFE DETECTION IN EXTRATERRESTRIAL SAMPLES February 13–15, 2012 • San Diego, California Sponsors NASA Mars Program Office NASA Planetary Protection Office Universities Space Research Association Lunar and Planetary Institute Conveners Dave Beaty Mary Voytek NASA Mars Program Office NASA Astrobiology Cassie Conley Jorge Vago NASA Planetary Protection ESA Mars Program Gerhard Kminek Michael Meyer ESA Planetary Protection NASA Mars Exploration Program Dave Des Marais Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group (MEPAG) Chair Scientific Organizing Committee Carl Allen Charles Cockell NASA Johnson Space Center University of Edinburgh Doug Bartlett John Parnell Scripps Institution of Oceanography University of Aberdeen Penny Boston Mike Spilde New Mexico Tech University of New Mexico Karen Buxbaum Andrew Steele NASA Mars Program Office Carnegie Institution for Science Frances Westall Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire Lunar and Planetary Institute 3600 Bay Area Boulevard Houston TX 77058-1113 LPI Contribution No. 1650 Compiled in 2011 by Meeting and Publication Services Lunar and Planetary Institute USRA Houston 3600 Bay Area Boulevard, Houston TX 77058-1113 The Lunar and Planetary Institute is operated by the Universities Space Research Association under a cooperative agreement with the Science Mission Directorate of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this volume are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Material in this volume may be copied without restraint for library, abstract service, education, or personal research purposes; however, republication of any paper or portion thereof requires the written permission of the authors as well as the appropriate acknowledgment of this publication. Abstracts in this volume may be cited as Author A. B. (2011) Title of abstract. In Conference on Life Detection in Extraterrestrial Samples, p. XX. LPI Contribution No. 1650, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston. ISSN No. 0161-5297 Preface This volume contains abstracts that have been accepted for presentation at the Conference on Life Detection in Extraterrestrial Samples, February 13–15, 2012, San Diego, California. Administration and publications support for this meeting were provided by the staff of the Meeting and Publication Services Department at the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Life Detection in Extraterrestrial Samples v Contents Program ........................................................................................................................................................................ ix We Did It Before — The Lunar Receiving Laboratory (1969–1972) C. C. Allen and J. H. Allton ............................................................................................................................. 1 Cleaning Genesis Mission Payload for Flight with Ultrapure Water and Assembly in ISO Class 4 Environment J. H. Allton ...................................................................................................................................................... 3 Technical Tension Between Achieving Particulate and Molecular Organic Environmental Cleanliness: Data from Astromaterial Curation Laboratories J. H. Allton and P. J. Burkett ........................................................................................................................... 5 Seeking Evidence of Past Life on Mars: The Potential Evidence that May Be Contained in Returned Samples A. C. Allwood .................................................................................................................................................. 7 Detection of Long Chain Bio-Polymers Using Atomic Force Microscopy M. S. Anderson ................................................................................................................................................ 9 Planning for the Analytic Environment to Conduct Life Detection Experiments on Samples Returned from Mars: Observations and Issues D. S. Bass, D. W. Beaty, C. C. Allen, A. C. Allwood, L. E. Borg, K. E. Buxbaum, J. A. Hurowitz, and M. D. Schulte ................................................................................................................. 10 Status Report of a Joint Science Working Group for a Proposed 2018 Joint Mars Mission D. W. Beaty, G. Kminek, A. Allwood, R. Arvidson, L. Borg, J. Farmer, F. Goesmann, J. Grant, E. Hauber, S. Murchie, G. G. Ori, S. Ruff, F. Rull, M. Sephton, B. Sherwood Lollar, C. Smith, F. Westall, A. Pacros, M. Wilson, M. Meyer, J. Vago, D. Bass, L. Joudrier, B. Boyes, P. Francescetti, J. Hurowitz, S. Laubach, D. Loizeau, S. Feldman, and R. Trautner .................................................................................. 12 Tele-Analysis of Returned Mars Samples: An Opportunity for NASA? D. F. Blake and L. F. Allard .......................................................................................................................... 13 The Effect of Carbonate on the Determination of δ13C Biosignature in Low-Organic Low- Carbonate Soils from the Atacama: Relevance to the Search for Past Life on Mars R. Bonaccorsi, C.-P. McKay, and A.-P. Zent ................................................................................................ 15 Long-Term Persistence of Microorganisms in Geological Materials: Lazarus, Rip Van Winkle, and the Walking Dead P. J. Boston, M. N. Spilde, D. E. Northup, and C. McMillan ........................................................................ 17 EPR Study of Paleogene to Precambrian Cherts: Reassessing the Use of EPR for the Detection of Contaminations in Precambrian Cherts M. D. Bourbin, S. Derenne, D. Gourier, and Y. Le Du ................................................................................. 19 An Approach for Collection, Concentration, and Isolation of DNA from Terrestrial and Exo- Planetary Soils Using SCODAphoresis C. Bradburne, C. Neish, C. Robinson, S. Kinahan, J. Proescher, J. Maydan, A. Marziali, and J. DiRuggiero .................................................................................................. 20 vi LPI Contribution No. 1650 Sample Integrity for the Proposed Mars Sample Return Campaign C. J. Budney .................................................................................................................................................. 21 SERS Investigation of Nucleobases Deposited on Evaporite Minerals: A Test Case for Analogue Mars Regolith. S. C. Caporali, V. M-C. Moggi-Cecchi, M. P. Pagliai, G. P. Pratesi, and V. S. Schettino ........................... 22 Nucleic-Acid Sequencing for Life Detection and Characterization C. E. Carr, C. S. Lui, H. Rowedder, M. T. Zuber, and G. Ruvkun ................................................................ 24 Biosignatures in Vesicular Basalts B. Cavalazzi, F. Westall, S. L. Cady, R. Barbieri, F. Foucher, and N. J. Beukes .......................................... 26 Investigation of the Spatial Relationships of Bacteria Associated with Rock Varnish A. M. Corcoran, D. R. Noguera, and K. R. Kuhlman .................................................................................... 27 Sterilization of Spacecraft Components by Laser Ablation and Plasma Generation C. B. Dreyer, J. R. Spear, K. L. Lynch, and A. J. Bauer ................................................................................ 29 Recovery of Organics and Biomarkers from Mars Analogues and Meteorites: Extraction and Quantitative Analytical Challenges P. Ehrenfreund, R. Quinn, Z. Martins, S. Direito, B. Foing, M. Kotler, and W. Roeling .............................. 31 X-Ray Computed Microtomography and Fluorescence Microtomography: Non-Invasive Screening Tools for Returned Rock and Core Samples from Mars and Other Solar System Bodies G. J. Flynn ..................................................................................................................................................... 32 Abiotic Corrosion Microtextures in Volcanic Glass: Reevaluation of a Putative Biosignature for Earth and Mars J. E. French and D. F. Blake ......................................................................................................................... 34 Diagenetic Origin of Moretane Anomalies in the Late Permian and Early Triassic K. L. French, N. J. Tosca, C. Cao, and R. E. Summons ................................................................................ 36 “Life in CI Chondrites”: Not Life, Not Extraterrestrial, Not Even Interesting M. Fries ......................................................................................................................................................... 37 The Microbial Contamination State of As-Found Antarctic Meteorites M. Fries, R. Harvey, A. J. T. Jull, N. Wainwright, and ANSMET 07-08 Team ............................................. 39 Strategies for Distinguishing Abiotic Chemistry from Martian Biochemistry in Samples Returned from Mars D. P. Glavin, A. S. Burton, M. P. Callahan, J. E. Elsila, J. C. Stern, and J. P. Dworkin .............................. 41 Biocontainment Challenges for Handling and Life Detection of Extraterrestrial Samples M. A. Grimaldo, R. L. Beets, and J. S. Sandlin .............................................................................................. 43 µ-XANES at the S-K Edge and Hard/Soft XRF Analyses
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