Jan 3, 2025 07:00 PM
(This post was last modified: Jan 4, 2025 02:58 AM by C C.)
The quantum reason that explains why the Sun shines
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/...un-shines/
KEY POINTS: Inside the Sun, enormous numbers of collisions happen between protons and other atomic nuclei in the core of our parent star. If we calculate how many particles should collide with enough energy to engage in nuclear reactions, overcoming their electrostatic repulsion, however, we find there are none. That’s where the rules of quantum mechanics come in, allowing these particles to quantum tunnel into a more stable state, enabling the fusion reactions that power our Sun... (MORE - details)
An Icy Worlds life detection strategy based on Exo-AUV
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069426
INTRO: Icy Worlds like Europa and Enceladus provide conditions for the survival of microorganisms. Conducting life detection in regions with high biological potential, such as the icy shell, ice-water interface and seafloor, is likely to discover robust biosignatures, extant life and even prebiotic chemical systems.
Extraterrestrial Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (Exo-AUVs) are able to perform in situ, multi-object, multi-scale and multi-dimensional detection autonomously and efficiently. They are expected to serve as crucial tools for planetary scientists and astrobiologists exploring icy worlds and searching for extraterrestrial life.
Based on Europa, it is suggested that the primary science goal of Icy Worlds life detection missions should be the exploration of biological potential which not only aligns with the hypothetical nature of a detection but also helps avoid potential paradoxes associated with binary thinking. By focusing on biological potential, researchers are likely to uncover biosignatures, extant life and even prebiotic chemical systems.
The speculation, evaluation and verification of biological potential require consideration of numerous environmental variables and parameters, some of which may serve as biosignatures indicating the presence of life. Just as on Earth, where life thrives in some regions but is scarce in others, detecting the biological potential of Europa should prioritize regions with relatively greater potential for supporting life and biosignatures.
Drawing on analogies and ecological theories on Earth, researchers can identify key regions with high biological and biosignature potential, such as the icy shell, ice-water interface and seafloor. However, current detection methodologies often focus on biogenic analysis and overlook strategies for collecting robust biosignatures. In oligotrophic systems, life distribution is sparse and heterogeneous. Even in theoretically promising regions like beneath the ice or on the seafloor, fragile biosignatures may be unable to define biogenesis, regardless by the binary diagnosis or statistical methods.
The process of detecting life on Icy Worlds involves four key procedures: assuming, sampling, analyzing and verifying. The Exo-AUV, along with its ice-penetrating carrier, has the capability to explore the subsurface of the icy shell and carry various payloads for comprehensive data collection and analysis in different dimensions.
By applying the ecological niche theory, a life detection strategy for Icy Worlds has been proposed. This strategy guides the Exo-AUV to autonomously identify micro-zones with high biological potential, collect diverse robust biosignatures and potentially detect extant life.
The data gathered from Icy Worlds can be used to validate, refute, refine and even reconstruct models based on Earth data. By leveraging the Exo-AUV's underwater detection capabilities, this strategy overcomes limitations of passive data collection and integrates assuming, sampling, analyzing and verifying procedures into a comprehensive methodology for detecting life on Icy Worlds.
Ultimately, this strategy aims to uncover robust biosignatures, potential extant life and even prebiotic chemical systems in Europa's thick icy and oceanic layers of hundreds of kilometers thick, with minimal energy and supplies.
Three typical contexts for detecting life on Europa are identified, within the icy shell, at the ice-water interface and on the seafloor. Each context is composed by 4 major contextual elements, environmental conditions, Exo-AUV, the object being measured and key operations. By analyzing these contextual elements along with other pre-procedures such as launching, interplanetary flight, orbit entry and landing, the basic technological requirements for the Exo-AUVs and their ice-penetrating carrier are proposed... (MORE - details, no ads)
PAPER: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11430-023-1390-6
https://bigthink.com/starts-with-a-bang/...un-shines/
KEY POINTS: Inside the Sun, enormous numbers of collisions happen between protons and other atomic nuclei in the core of our parent star. If we calculate how many particles should collide with enough energy to engage in nuclear reactions, overcoming their electrostatic repulsion, however, we find there are none. That’s where the rules of quantum mechanics come in, allowing these particles to quantum tunnel into a more stable state, enabling the fusion reactions that power our Sun... (MORE - details)
An Icy Worlds life detection strategy based on Exo-AUV
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069426
INTRO: Icy Worlds like Europa and Enceladus provide conditions for the survival of microorganisms. Conducting life detection in regions with high biological potential, such as the icy shell, ice-water interface and seafloor, is likely to discover robust biosignatures, extant life and even prebiotic chemical systems.
Extraterrestrial Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (Exo-AUVs) are able to perform in situ, multi-object, multi-scale and multi-dimensional detection autonomously and efficiently. They are expected to serve as crucial tools for planetary scientists and astrobiologists exploring icy worlds and searching for extraterrestrial life.
Based on Europa, it is suggested that the primary science goal of Icy Worlds life detection missions should be the exploration of biological potential which not only aligns with the hypothetical nature of a detection but also helps avoid potential paradoxes associated with binary thinking. By focusing on biological potential, researchers are likely to uncover biosignatures, extant life and even prebiotic chemical systems.
The speculation, evaluation and verification of biological potential require consideration of numerous environmental variables and parameters, some of which may serve as biosignatures indicating the presence of life. Just as on Earth, where life thrives in some regions but is scarce in others, detecting the biological potential of Europa should prioritize regions with relatively greater potential for supporting life and biosignatures.
Drawing on analogies and ecological theories on Earth, researchers can identify key regions with high biological and biosignature potential, such as the icy shell, ice-water interface and seafloor. However, current detection methodologies often focus on biogenic analysis and overlook strategies for collecting robust biosignatures. In oligotrophic systems, life distribution is sparse and heterogeneous. Even in theoretically promising regions like beneath the ice or on the seafloor, fragile biosignatures may be unable to define biogenesis, regardless by the binary diagnosis or statistical methods.
The process of detecting life on Icy Worlds involves four key procedures: assuming, sampling, analyzing and verifying. The Exo-AUV, along with its ice-penetrating carrier, has the capability to explore the subsurface of the icy shell and carry various payloads for comprehensive data collection and analysis in different dimensions.
By applying the ecological niche theory, a life detection strategy for Icy Worlds has been proposed. This strategy guides the Exo-AUV to autonomously identify micro-zones with high biological potential, collect diverse robust biosignatures and potentially detect extant life.
The data gathered from Icy Worlds can be used to validate, refute, refine and even reconstruct models based on Earth data. By leveraging the Exo-AUV's underwater detection capabilities, this strategy overcomes limitations of passive data collection and integrates assuming, sampling, analyzing and verifying procedures into a comprehensive methodology for detecting life on Icy Worlds.
Ultimately, this strategy aims to uncover robust biosignatures, potential extant life and even prebiotic chemical systems in Europa's thick icy and oceanic layers of hundreds of kilometers thick, with minimal energy and supplies.
Three typical contexts for detecting life on Europa are identified, within the icy shell, at the ice-water interface and on the seafloor. Each context is composed by 4 major contextual elements, environmental conditions, Exo-AUV, the object being measured and key operations. By analyzing these contextual elements along with other pre-procedures such as launching, interplanetary flight, orbit entry and landing, the basic technological requirements for the Exo-AUVs and their ice-penetrating carrier are proposed... (MORE - details, no ads)
PAPER: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11430-023-1390-6