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Geosciences
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Planetary Evolution and Search for Life on Habitable Planets
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Planetary Evolution and Search for Life on Habitable Planets

A special issue of Geosciences (ISSN 2076-3263). This special issue belongs to the section "Biogeosciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 March 2019) | Viewed by 59372

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Lena Noack

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Earth Sciences, Free University of Berlin, Malteserstrasse 74-100, D-12249 Berlin, Germany
Interests: mantle convection; planetary habitability; astrobiology; planet evolution; mineralogy; outgassing; plate tectonics; volatile cycles
Dr. Ralf Moeller

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
German Aerospace Center (DLR e.V.), Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Radiation Biology Department, Space Microbiology Research Group, Bldg. 24m/R. 139, Linder Hohe, D-51147 Cologne (Köln), Germany
Interests: space life science; astrobiology; biosignatures; extremophiles; radiation; extraterrestrial conditions; search/origin/evolution of life

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims at bringing together studies from different research fields of astrobiology, that are related to the questions of habitability of planets and moons and the search for life both in our solar system and beyond.

Earth is the only planet that we know of so far, which is inhabited by life. Our neighbour planets Mars and Venus lack proof of extinct or extant life, and are examples of at least partly uninhabitable worlds for life as we know it. With more and more exoplanets being discovered in the right distance to their host stars, such that these planets could have liquid water—and hence Earth-like life—at their surface, it is increasingly important to understand what factors make a planet habitable, and what influences not only origin but also distribution, evolution and survival of life.

We invite both review papers as well as original research papers from all subfields of astrobiology with the focus on planetary habitability within and outside the solar system. This includes for example conceptual studies on habitability of planets or niches, models of the interactions evolving between planet and life with its signatures, as well as space life science studies to understand the limits of Earth-like life.

It is recommended to submit a short letter of intent with information on title, authors, and a short description of the planned paper at least two months before the submission deadline to the guest editors in order to verify if the paper matches the scope of the special issue.

Prof. Dr. Lena Noack
Dr. Ralf Moeller
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Geosciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • planetary habitability
  • exoplanets
  • astrobiology
  • search for life
  • biosignatures
  • spaceflight missions and technologies
  • origin/evolution/distribution of life
  • extremophiles/microbiology

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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25 pages, 2878 KiB  
Article
Follow the High Subcritical Water
by Marie-Paule Bassez
Geosciences 2019, 9(6), 249; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9060249 - 03 Jun 2019
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 4371
Abstract
The expression “follow the water” is used to recognize inside the universe, life as it exists on Earth. It is shown here that the expression “follow the high subcritical water” can be used to recognize the components of life that formed prior to [...] Read more.
The expression “follow the water” is used to recognize inside the universe, life as it exists on Earth. It is shown here that the expression “follow the high subcritical water” can be used to recognize the components of life that formed prior to the emergence of life. It is also shown that this particular water leaves signatures inside rocks that are produced during high subcritical water–rock interactions. These signatures are ferric minerals, which are currently explained by the presence of microorganisms. The consideration of water in the high subcritical domain may lead to postpone the date of the existence of FeII-oxidizing and O2-producing microorganisms, and consequently the date of the appearance of oxygen in the atmosphere. Alkaline water at pH ~9.5 to 14 and in the specific domain of temperature ~300–350 °C, pressure ~10–25 MPa, and density ~700–600 kg/m3, allows us to understand the formation of silica and ferric minerals, and the synformation of components of life in anoxic geological terrains such as the banded iron formations on early Earth and extraterrestrial objects such as Enceladus. The high subcritical water lets appear the continuity between rocks and life, which is conceptualized by the word “geobiotropy”. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planetary Evolution and Search for Life on Habitable Planets)
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35 pages, 2134 KiB  
Article
Stress-Tolerance and Taxonomy of Culturable Bacterial Communities Isolated from a Central Mojave Desert Soil Sample
by Andrey A. Belov, Vladimir S. Cheptsov, Elena A. Vorobyova, Natalia A. Manucharova and Zakhar S. Ezhelev
Geosciences 2019, 9(4), 166; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9040166 - 10 Apr 2019
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3917
Abstract
The arid Mojave Desert is one of the most significant terrestrial analogue objects for astrobiological research due to its genesis, mineralogy, and climate. However, the knowledge of culturable bacterial communities found in this extreme ecotope’s soil is yet insufficient. Therefore, our research has [...] Read more.
The arid Mojave Desert is one of the most significant terrestrial analogue objects for astrobiological research due to its genesis, mineralogy, and climate. However, the knowledge of culturable bacterial communities found in this extreme ecotope’s soil is yet insufficient. Therefore, our research has been aimed to fulfil this lack of knowledge and improve the understanding of functioning of edaphic bacterial communities of the Central Mojave Desert soil. We characterized aerobic heterotrophic soil bacterial communities of the central region of the Mojave Desert. A high total number of prokaryotic cells and a high proportion of culturable forms in the soil studied were observed. Prevalence of Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Firmicutes was discovered. The dominance of pigmented strains in culturable communities and high proportion of thermotolerant and pH-tolerant bacteria were detected. Resistance to a number of salts, including the ones found in Martian regolith, as well as antibiotic resistance, were also estimated. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planetary Evolution and Search for Life on Habitable Planets)
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15 pages, 1481 KiB  
Article
Kinetics of White Soft Minerals (WSMs) Decomposition under Conditions of Interest for Astrobiology: A Theoretical and Experimental Study
by Gaia Micca Longo, Marcella D’Elia, Sergio Fonti, Savino Longo, Francesca Mancarella and Vincenzo Orofino
Geosciences 2019, 9(2), 101; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9020101 - 23 Feb 2019
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2792
Abstract
In this paper, the thermal decomposition kinetics of a class of minerals that we call White Soft Minerals (WSMs) is studied by means of theoretical and experimental methods, in connection to the transport of extraterrestrial organic matter to Earth and the possible use [...] Read more.
In this paper, the thermal decomposition kinetics of a class of minerals that we call White Soft Minerals (WSMs) is studied by means of theoretical and experimental methods, in connection to the transport of extraterrestrial organic matter to Earth and the possible use of the decomposition reaction in the characterization of these minerals in space. WSMs include, under a single denomination, carbonates and sulphates of Mg, Fe, and Ca. To improve the present knowledge of the properties of such materials, we use the following techniques: kinetic models for chemical decomposition, atmospheric entry models, spectroscopy, and gravimetric analyses. Model results show that the atmospheric entry of WSM grains is strongly affected by their thermal decomposition. The decomposition reaction, being strongly endothermic, tends to significantly lower the grain temperature during the atmospheric entry, especially at high altitudes and for grazing entries. A previously proposed infrared spectroscopic technique to evaluate the degree of advancement of the reaction is found to be in good agreement with gravimetric measurements for calcium carbonate. The numerical model developed for the atmospheric entry scenarios is used to interpret experimental results. These main findings show that an additional contribution to the reaction enthalpy is needed to reproduce the experimental results, suggesting that the present theoretical model needs improvements such as the account of gas diffusion in the materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planetary Evolution and Search for Life on Habitable Planets)
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8 pages, 1462 KiB  
Communication
Survival of Radioresistant Bacteria on Europa’s Surface after Pulse Ejection of Subsurface Ocean Water
by Anatoly Pavlov, Vladimir Cheptsov, Denis Tsurkov, Vladimir Lomasov, Dmitry Frolov and Gennady Vasiliev
Geosciences 2019, 9(1), 9; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9010009 - 25 Dec 2018
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4395
Abstract
We briefly present preliminary results of our study of the radioresistant bacteria in a low temperature and pressure and high-radiation environment and hypothesize the ability of microorganisms to survive extraterrestrial high-radiation environments, such as the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon, Europa. In this [...] Read more.
We briefly present preliminary results of our study of the radioresistant bacteria in a low temperature and pressure and high-radiation environment and hypothesize the ability of microorganisms to survive extraterrestrial high-radiation environments, such as the icy surface of Jupiter’s moon, Europa. In this study, samples containing a strain of Deinococcus radiodurans VKM B-1422T embedded into a simulated version of Europa’s ice were put under extreme environmental (−130 °C, 0.01 mbar) and radiation conditions using a specially designed experimental vacuum chamber. The samples were irradiated with 5, 10, 50, and 100 kGy doses and subsequently studied for residual viable cells. We estimate the limit of the accumulated dose that viable cells in those conditions could withstand at 50 kGy. Combining our numerical modelling of the accumulated dose in ice with observations of water eruption events on Europa, we hypothesize that in the case of such events, it is possible that putative extraterrestrial organisms might retain viability in a dormant state for up to 10,000 years, and could be sampled and studied by future probe missions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planetary Evolution and Search for Life on Habitable Planets)
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Review

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19 pages, 3430 KiB  
Review
Viroids-First—A Model for Life on Earth, Mars and Exoplanets
by Karin Moelling and Felix Broecker
Geosciences 2019, 9(5), 241; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9050241 - 25 May 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5823
Abstract
The search for extraterrestrial life, recently fueled by the discovery of exoplanets, requires defined biosignatures. Current biomarkers include those of extremophilic organisms, typically archaea. Yet these cellular organisms are highly complex, which makes it unlikely that similar life forms evolved on other planets. [...] Read more.
The search for extraterrestrial life, recently fueled by the discovery of exoplanets, requires defined biosignatures. Current biomarkers include those of extremophilic organisms, typically archaea. Yet these cellular organisms are highly complex, which makes it unlikely that similar life forms evolved on other planets. Earlier forms of life on Earth may serve as better models for extraterrestrial life. On modern Earth, the simplest and most abundant biological entities are viroids and viruses that exert many properties of life, such as the abilities to replicate and undergo Darwinian evolution. Viroids have virus-like features, and are related to ribozymes, consisting solely of non-coding RNA, and may serve as more universal models for early life than do cellular life forms. Among the various proposed concepts, such as “proteins-first” or “metabolism-first”, we think that “viruses-first” can be specified to “viroids-first” as the most likely scenario for the emergence of life on Earth, and possibly elsewhere. With this article we intend to inspire the integration of virus research and the biosignatures of viroids and viruses into the search for extraterrestrial life. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planetary Evolution and Search for Life on Habitable Planets)
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48 pages, 8478 KiB  
Review
A More Comprehensive Habitable Zone for Finding Life on Other Planets
by Ramses M. Ramirez
Geosciences 2018, 8(8), 280; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8080280 - 28 Jul 2018
Cited by 51 | Viewed by 31205
Abstract
The habitable zone (HZ) is the circular region around a star(s) where standing bodies of water could exist on the surface of a rocky planet. Space missions employ the HZ to select promising targets for follow-up habitability assessment. The classical HZ definition assumes [...] Read more.
The habitable zone (HZ) is the circular region around a star(s) where standing bodies of water could exist on the surface of a rocky planet. Space missions employ the HZ to select promising targets for follow-up habitability assessment. The classical HZ definition assumes that the most important greenhouse gases for habitable planets orbiting main-sequence stars are CO2 and H2O. Although the classical HZ is an effective navigational tool, recent HZ formulations demonstrate that it cannot thoroughly capture the diversity of habitable exoplanets. Here, I review the planetary and stellar processes considered in both classical and newer HZ formulations. Supplementing the classical HZ with additional considerations from these newer formulations improves our capability to filter out worlds that are unlikely to host life. Such improved HZ tools will be necessary for current and upcoming missions aiming to detect and characterize potentially habitable exoplanets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planetary Evolution and Search for Life on Habitable Planets)
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Other

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11 pages, 1310 KiB  
Hypothesis
The Rise of A Habitable Planet: Four Required Conditions for the Origin of Life in the Universe
by Vladimir Kompanichenko
Geosciences 2019, 9(2), 92; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9020092 - 16 Feb 2019
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5608
Abstract
The advanced version of the author’s inversion concept of the origin of terrestrial life and its application for life in the Universe has been substantiated. A key step in the transition to life consists in the thermodynamic inversion of non-living prebiotic microsystems when [...] Read more.
The advanced version of the author’s inversion concept of the origin of terrestrial life and its application for life in the Universe has been substantiated. A key step in the transition to life consists in the thermodynamic inversion of non-living prebiotic microsystems when the contributions of free energy (F) and information (I) become prevalent over the contribution of entropy (S). It is based the thermodynamic corridor that is mandatory for all chemical scenarios for the origin of life: F + I < S (prebiotic microsystem) → F + I ≈ S (intermediate stage, inversion moment) → F + I > S (primary living unit). A prebiotic organic microsystem can reach the intermediate state between non-life and life only under high-frequency and multilevel oscillations of physic-chemical parameters in hydrothermal environments. The oscillations are considered the fourth required condition for the origin of life, in addition to the three well-known ones: the availability of organic matter, an aqueous medium, and a source of energy. The emergence of initial life sparks in nonequilibrium prebiotic microsystems (being at the intermediate state) proceeds through the continuous response (counteraction) of prebiotic microsystems to incessant physic-chemical oscillations (stress). The next step of laboratory simulations on the origin of life directed to the exploration of the microsystems’ response to high-frequency oscillations (>10−10 s–<30 min) is proposed. Finally, some fragments of the general scenario of the origin of life in the Universe based on the whole four required conditions have been outlined. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planetary Evolution and Search for Life on Habitable Planets)
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