Description:
A key question for astrobiology is the distribution of life in the universe. Presently, we have only one example of life which is found on Earth. However, there is evidence that habitable
environments once existed on Mars and might currently exist within the subsurface ocean of Enceladus, an icy moon of Saturn. Therefore, space agencies have great interest in searching for evidence of life on these planetary worlds, or to at least search for environments with conditions that are compatible with life as we know it.
A goal of this project is to inform and enable future methods for the search for life at Enceladus. In 2005, the Cassini mission revealed this icy ocean world to have plumes of gas containing CO2, organic compounds and H2 venting into space over the south polar region. At Lake Untersee, a perennially ice-covered lake in Antarctica, the deep anoxic basin with its unusual biogeochemical processes serves as an analog environment, providing a model for the study of the composition of the Enceladus plume and the potential habitability of its sub-ice ocean. This project seeks to determine the source of H2-CO2 in Untersee’s anoxic waters which drives many of the biochemical processes taking place, search for the presence of biosignatures, and determine the isotopic composition and concentration of other geochemical constituents. Our results will be used to investigate the possibility of a habitable subsurface ocean world at Enceladus. Using a remotely operated vehicle capable of exploring the anaerobic and aerobic waters within the sub-ice environment of Untersee, our project will map the distribution of the benthic microbial mats, characterize their various morphologies and collect sediment samples for additional laboratory analyses.
The objectives pursued in this project are highly relevant to the analyses of the gaseous constituents in the plumes of Enceladus, the analyses of carbon compounds from plume samples returned to Earth, or for the deployment of a penetrator into the subsurface ocean that would conduct in-situ experiments and image a possible ecosystem. Highly qualified personnel will be trained in space-related activities and will work with international co-applicants as well as Canadian industry partners where they will gain practical experience in the fields of astrobiology and technology. Our findings at Untersee will help inform and prepare future missions that will search for evidence of life on Enceladus.