Production of oxidants by ion irradiation of water/carbon dioxide frozen mixtures

Hydrogen peroxide at the poles of Ganymede

Ganymede is the only satellite in the solar system known to have an intrinsic magnetic field. Interactions between this field and the Jovian magnetosphere are expected to funnel most of the associated impinging charged particles, which radiolytically alter surface chemistry across the Jupiter system, to Ganymede's polar regions. Using observations obtained with JWST as part of the Early Release Science program exploring the Jupiter system, we report the discovery of hydrogen peroxide, a radiolysis product of water ice, specifically constrained to the high latitudes. This detection directly implies radiolytic modification of the polar caps by precipitation of Jovian charged particles along partially open field lines within Ganymede's magnetosphere. Stark contrasts between the spatial distribution of this polar hydrogen peroxide, those of Ganymede's other radiolytic oxidants, and that of hydrogen peroxide on neighboring Europa have important implications for understanding water-ice radiolysis throughout the solar system.

Ceres: Astrobiological Target and Possible Ocean World

Ceres, the most water-rich body in the inner solar system after Earth, has recently been recognized to have astrobiological importance. Chemical and physical measurements obtained by the Dawn mission enabled the quantification of key parameters, which helped to constrain the habitability of the inner solar system's only dwarf planet. The surface chemistry and internal structure of Ceres testify to a protracted history of reactions between liquid water, rock, and likely organic compounds. We review the clues on chemical composition, temperature, and prospects for long-term occurrence of liquid and chemical gradients. Comparisons with giant planet satellites indicate similarities both from a chemical evolution standpoint and in the physical mechanisms driving Ceres' internal evolution.

H2CO3→ CO2+ H2O decomposition in the presence of H2O, HCOOH, CH3COOH, H2SO4and HO2radical: instability of the gas-phase H2CO3molecule in the troposphere and lower stratosphere

Carbonic acid decomposition of potential atmospheric significance.

Autocatalytic isomerizations of the two most stable conformers of carbonic acid in vapor phase: double hydrogen transfer in carbonic acid homodimers

The cis-cis [(cc)] and cis-trans [(ct)] conformers of carbonic acid (H2CO3) are known as the two most stable conformers based on the different orientations of two OH functional groups present in the molecule. To explain the interconversion of the (cc)-conformer to its (ct)-conformer, the rotation of one of the two indistinguishable OH functional groups present in the (cc)-conformer has been shown until now as the effective isomerization mechanism. Moreover, the (ct)-conformer, which is slightly energetically disfavored over the (cc)-conformer, has been considered as the starting point for the decomposition of H2CO3 into CO2 and H2O molecules. Experimentally, on the other hand, the infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopy of the crystalline H2CO3 polymorphs suggest that the most possible basic building blocks of H2CO3 polymorphs consist of only and exclusively the (cc)-conformers. However, the sublimations of these crystalline H2CO3 polymorphs result both the (cc)- and (ct)-conformers in the vapor phase with the (cc)-conformer being the major species. In this article, we first report the high level ab initio calculations investigating the energetics of the autocatlytic isomerization mechanism between the two most stable conformers of carbonic acid in the vapor phase. The calculations have been performed at the MP2 level of theory in conjunction with aug-cc-pVDZ, aug-cc-pVTZ, and 6-311++G(3df,3pd) basis sets. The results of the present study specifically and strongly suggest that double hydrogen transfer within the eight-membered cyclic doubly hydrogen-bonded (H-bonded) ring interface of the H2CO3 homodimer formed between two (cc)-conformers is ultimately the starting mechanism for the isomerization of the (cc)-conformer to its (ct)-conformer, especially, during the sublimation of the H2CO3 polymorphs, which result in the vapor phase concentration of the (cc)-conformer at the highest levels.

Astrobiological aspects of the mutagenesis of cosmic radiation on bacterial spores

Based on their unique resistance to various space parameters, Bacillus endospores are one of the model systems used for astrobiological studies. In this study, spores of B. subtilis were used to study the effects of galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) on spore survival and induced mutagenesis. In interplanetary space, outside Earth's protective magnetic field, spore-containing rocks would be exposed to bombardment by high-energy charged particle radiation from galactic sources and from the Sun, which consists of photons (X-rays, gamma rays), protons, electrons, and heavy, high-energy charged (HZE) particles. B. subtilis spores were irradiated with X-rays and accelerated heavy ions (helium, carbon, silicon and iron) in the linear energy transfer (LET) range of 2-200 keV/mum. Spore survival and the rate of the induced mutations to rifampicin resistance (Rif(R)) depended on the LET of the applied species of ions and radiation, whereas the exposure to high-energy charged particles, for example, iron ions, led to a low level of spore survival and increased frequency of mutation to Rif(R) compared to low-energy charged particles and X-rays. Twenty-one Rif(R) mutant spores were isolated from X-ray and heavy ion-irradiated samples. Nucleotide sequencing located the Rif(R) mutations in the rpoB gene encoding the beta-subunit of RNA polymerase. Most mutations were primarily found in Cluster I and were predicted to result in amino acid changes at residues Q469L, A478V, and H482P/Y. Four previously undescribed alleles in B. subtilis rpoB were isolated: L467P, R484P, and A488P in Cluster I and H507R in the spacer between Clusters I and II. The spectrum of Rif(R) mutations arising from spores exposed to components of GCR is distinctly different from those of spores exposed to simulated space vacuum and martian conditions.