Survival of organic materials in hypervelocity impacts of ice on sand, ice, and water in the laboratory.

The survival of organic molecules in shock impact events has been investigated in the laboratory. A frozen mixture of anthracene and stearic acid, solvated in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), was fired in a two-stage light gas gun at speeds of ~2 and ~4 km s(-1) at targets that included water ice, water, and sand. This involved shock pressures in the range of 2-12 GPa. It was found that the projectile materials were present in elevated quantities in the targets after impact and in some cases in the crater ejecta as well. For DMSO impacting water at 1.9 km s(-1) and 45° incidence, we quantify the surviving fraction after impact as 0.44±0.05. This demonstrates successful transfer of organic compounds from projectile to target in high-speed impacts. The range of impact speeds used covers that involved in impacts of terrestrial meteorites on the Moon, as well as impacts in the outer Solar System on icy bodies such as Pluto. The results provide laboratory evidence that suggests that exogenous delivery of complex organic molecules from icy impactors is a viable source of such material on target bodies.

[1]  M. Burchell Cratering on Icy Bodies , 2013 .

[2]  M. Burchell,et al.  Survivability of Bacteria Ejected from Icy Surfaces after Hypervelocity Impact , 2003, Origins of life and evolution of the biosphere.

[3]  F. Kyte Unmelted meteoritic debris collected from Eltanin ejecta in Polarstern cores from expedition ANT XII/4 , 2002 .

[4]  J. Blank,et al.  Experimental Shock Chemistry of Aqueous Amino Acid Solutions and the Cometary Delivery of Prebiotic Compounds , 2001, Origins of life and evolution of the biosphere.

[5]  A. Boyce,et al.  Discovery of a 25-cm asteroid clast in the giant Morokweng impact crater, South Africa , 2006, Nature.

[6]  G. Flynn,et al.  The delivery of organic matter from asteroids and comets to the early surface of Mars. , 1996, Earth, moon, and planets.

[7]  Andrew Steele,et al.  Comet 81P/Wild 2 Under a Microscope , 2006, Science.

[8]  Leo Laine,et al.  DERIVATION OF MECHANICAL PROPERTIES FOR SAND , 2001 .

[9]  S. Stewart,et al.  Impact crater formation in icy layered terrains on Mars , 2006 .

[10]  H. Melosh,et al.  Hydrocode modeling of oblique impacts: The fate of the projectile , 2000 .

[11]  Andrew Steele,et al.  Infrared Spectroscopy of Comet 81P/Wild 2 Samples Returned by Stardust , 2006, Science.

[12]  Scott A. Sandford,et al.  Detection of cometary amines in samples returned by Stardust , 2008 .

[13]  V. Basiuk,et al.  Pyrolysis of simple amino acids and nucleobases: survivability limits and implications for extraterrestrial delivery , 1999 .

[14]  Michael J. Cole,et al.  Hypervelocity impact studies using the 2 MV Van de Graaff accelerator and two-stage light gas gun of the University of Kent at Canterbury , 1999 .

[15]  M. Burchell,et al.  Survivability of Bacteria in Hypervelocity Impact , 2001 .

[16]  Kevin R. Housen,et al.  Impact Cratering: A Geologic Process , 1987 .

[17]  M. Burchell,et al.  Survival of yeast spores in hypervelocity impact events up to velocities of 7.4 km s−1 , 2013 .

[18]  M. Burchell,et al.  Survival of seeds in hypervelocity impacts , 2008, International Journal of Astrobiology.

[19]  Michel Maurette,et al.  A Search for Extraterrestrial Amino Acids in Carbonaceous Antarctic Micrometeorites , 1998, Origins of life and evolution of the biosphere.

[20]  S. Bajt,et al.  Infrared Spectroscopy of Comet Wild-2 Samples Returned by the Stardust Mission. , 2006 .

[21]  John C. Armstrong,et al.  Distribution of Impact Locations and Velocities of Earth Meteorites on the Moon , 2010 .

[22]  Kevin Zahnle,et al.  Cratering Rates in the Outer Solar System , 1999 .

[23]  P. Hazell,et al.  The effect of shock loading on the survival of plant seeds , 2012 .

[24]  Elisabetta Pierazzo,et al.  Cometary Delivery of Biogenic Elements to Europa , 2002 .

[25]  Susan Taylor,et al.  Concentration and variability of the AIB amino acid in polar micrometeorites: Implications for the exogenous delivery of amino acids to the primitive Earth , 2004 .

[26]  M. Burchell,et al.  Laboratory impacts into dry and wet sandstone with and without an overlying water layer: Implications for scaling laws and projectile survivability , 2007 .

[27]  J. Cronin Origin of organic compounds in carbonaceous chondrites. , 1989, Advances in Space Research.

[28]  C P McKay,et al.  Organic synthesis in experimental impact shocks. , 1997, Science.

[29]  H. Melosh,et al.  Understanding oblique impacts from experiments, observations, and modeling. , 2000, Annual review of earth and planetary sciences.

[30]  Elisabetta Pierazzo,et al.  Amino acid survival in large cometary impacts , 1999 .

[31]  J. Barrat Determination of parental magmas of HED cumulates: The effects of interstitial melts , 2004 .

[32]  G. Horneck,et al.  Experimental evidence for the potential impact ejection of viable microorganisms from Mars and Mars-like planets , 2007 .

[33]  V. Basiuk,et al.  Survivability of biomolecules during extraterrestrial delivery: new results on pyrolysis of amino acids and poly-amino acids. , 2001, Advances in space research : the official journal of the Committee on Space Research.

[34]  John C. Armstrong,et al.  Rummaging through Earth's attic for remains of ancient life , 2002 .

[35]  R N Zare,et al.  Identification of Complex Aromatic Molecules in Individual Interplanetary Dust Particles , 1993, Science.

[36]  S. Sandford Terrestrial analysis of the organic component of comet dust. , 2008, Annual review of analytical chemistry.

[37]  E. Peterson,et al.  Modification of amino acids at shock pressures of 3.5 to 32 GPa. , 1997, Geochimica et cosmochimica acta.

[38]  M. Burchell,et al.  Hydrocode modelling of hypervelocity impacts on ice , 2013 .

[39]  M. Burchell,et al.  Oceanic hypervelocity impact events: a viable mechanism for successful panspermia? , 2006, International Journal of Astrobiology.

[40]  J. M. TEDDER,et al.  Organic Synthesis , 1968, Nature.

[41]  Carl Sagan,et al.  Endogenous production, exogenous delivery and impact-shock synthesis of organic molecules: an inventory for the origins of life , 1992, Nature.

[42]  M. Burchell,et al.  The thermal alteration by pyrolysis of the organic component of small projectiles of mudrock during capture at hypervelocity , 2008 .

[43]  Andrew Steele,et al.  Organics Captured from Comet 81P/Wild 2 by the Stardust Spacecraft , 2006, Science.

[44]  M. J. Willis,et al.  Bugbuster—survivability of living bacteria upon shock compression , 2003 .

[45]  M. Burchell,et al.  Survival of bacteria and spores under extreme shock pressures , 2004 .

[46]  C. McKay,et al.  Experimental impact shock chemistry on planetary icy satellites , 2008 .

[47]  W. Brinckerhoff,et al.  Molecular synthesis in hypervelocity impact plasmas on the primitive Earth and in interstellar clouds , 2003 .

[48]  M. Burchell,et al.  The preservation of fossil biomarkers during meteorite impact events: Experimental evidence from biomarker‐rich projectiles and target rocks , 2010 .

[49]  J. Castillo‐Rogez,et al.  The science of solar system ices , 2013 .

[50]  G. Horneck Bacterial Spores Survive Simulated Meteorite Impact , 2001 .

[51]  M. Burchell,et al.  Survival of organic compounds in ejecta from hypervelocity impacts on ice , 2009, International Journal of Astrobiology.

[52]  C. Hayhurst,et al.  Cylindrically symmetric SPH simulations of hypervelocity impacts on thin plates , 1997 .

[53]  A. Brack,et al.  The fate of amino acids during simulated meteoritic impact. , 2009, Astrobiology.