Astrobiology of comets

Richard B. Hoover; Elena V. Pikuta; Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe; Max K. Wallis; Robert B. Sheldon

doi:10.1117/12.566496

1 November 2004 Astrobiology of comets

Richard B. Hoover, Elena V. Pikuta, Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe, Max K. Wallis, Robert B. Sheldon

Proceedings Volume 5555, Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology VIII; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.566496
Event: Optical Science and Technology, the SPIE 49th Annual Meeting, 2004, Denver, Colorado, United States

Abstract

We review the current state of knowledge concerning microbial extremophiles and comets and the potential significance of comets to Astrobiology. We model the thermal history of a cometary body, regarded as an assemblage of boulders, dust, ices and organics, as it approaches a perihelion distance of ~ 1AU. The transfer of incident energy from sunlight into the interior leads to the melting of near surface ices, some under stable porous crust, providing possible habitats for a wide range of microorganisms. We provide data concerning new evidence for indigenous microfossils in CI meteorites, which may be the remains of extinct cometary cores. We discuss the dominant microbial communities of polar sea-ice, Antarctic ice sheet, and cryoconite environments as possible analogs for microbial ecosystems that may grow in sub-crustal pools or in ice/water films in comets.

Citation Download Citation

Richard B. Hoover, Elena V. Pikuta, Nalin Chandra Wickramasinghe, Max K. Wallis, and Robert B. Sheldon "Astrobiology of comets", Proc. SPIE 5555, Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology VIII, (1 November 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.566496

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