Astrochemistry Examples in the Classroom

Astrochemistry and Cosmochemistry are the study of the chemical elements and chemical compounds, that can be found in the outerspace, in stars, planets, comets, meteorits, interstellar matter etc. 

 

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Astromolecule: H2O+ (Water Cation)

The water cation (H₂O⁺) was identified by Ossenkopf and 100 co-authors using the Herschel HIFI instrument. It was found in several star-forming regions: DR21, Sgr B2, and NGC6334. Both ortho and para forms have observed, as reported by Schilke and co-workers. H₂O⁺ has also been observed toward Orion KL by Gupta and co-workers and toward the extragalactic sources NGC4418 and Arp 220 by González-Alfonso and co-workers.

Water cation is also called oxidaniumyl, with the ium indicating that it is a cation and the yl indicating that it is a open  shell radical. The structure of the water cation is similar to that of water, with bond angle and bond lengths that are both  slightly larger. The ionization energy of water is 12.621 eV, which  is about 1 eV less than the energy (13.618 eV) required to  ionize atomic O by removing a 2p electron from the 2p2 pair.  The singly occupied (2p-like) orbital of H2O+ is shown in the figure.

Water Cation

Credit: http://www.astrochymist.org/AMOTM/amotm_1303.html

CURIOSITY

CURIOSITY: This patch of bedrock, called "Cumberland," has been selected as the second target for drilling by NASA's Mars rover Curiosity. The favored location for drilling into Cumberland is in the lower right portion of the image. http://tinyurl.com/cl3srv5

The Chemistry of Space

Many of the ingredients for life formed in outer space. The Earth formed from star dust, and later meteorites and comets delivered even more materials to our planet. But scientists are still unsure which molecules played the most important roles in life's origin.

Credit: European Space Agency

Many of the organic molecules that make up life on Earth have also been found in space. A University of Michigan astronomer will use the Herschel Space Observatory to study these chemical compounds in new detail in the warm clouds of gas and dust around young stars.

He hopes to gain insights into how organic molecules form in space, and possibly, how life formed on Earth.

"The chemistry of space makes molecules that are the precursors of life. It’s possible that the Earth didn’t have to make these things on its own, but that they were provided from space," said Ted Bergin, an associate professor in the Department of Astronomy.

Bergin is a co-investigator on the Heterodyne Instrument for the Infrared aboard Herschel and a principal investigator on one of its key observing programs. Herschel, a European Space Agency mission with NASA participation, is scheduled to launch May 14. An orbiting telescope that will unlock new wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum, it will allow astronomers to observe at the far-infrared wavelengths where organic molecules and water emit their chemical signatures.

"We’ll be studying the full extent of chemistry in space and we hope to learn what types of organics are out there as a function of their distance from a star," Bergin said. "And we want to understand the chemical machinery that led to the formation of these organics."

Meteorites flecked with amino acids, which make proteins, have fallen to Earth from space. In faraway galaxies and stellar nurseries, astronomers have detected complex organic sugar and hydrocarbon molecules that are key components in chlorophyll in plants and RNA. Bergin expects to detect tens if not hundreds of these kinds of compounds - some of which have never been found before outside the Earth.

He is also involved in a Herschel project to look for water molecules in space. Traces of water in warm clouds of gas and dust around young stars could hold clues to how water forms and behaves in space, and how this elixir of life came to be so abundant on Earth. Scientists believe water got to Earth in a similar way as organic molecules.

"Most of the water in the solar system is not where we are, but further out in the solar system," Bergin said. "Most theories suggest that the Earth formed dry and impacts from asteroids or other objects provided the water here."

Credit: Astrobiology Magazine

The Mars Exploration Program

Since our first close-up picture of Mars in 1965, spacecraft voyages to the Red Planet have revealed a world strangely familiar, yet different enough to challenge our perceptions of what makes a planet work. Every time we feel close to understanding Mars, new discoveries send us straight back to the drawing board to revise existing theories.

You'd think Mars would be easier to understand. Like Earth, Mars has polar ice caps and clouds in its atmosphere, seasonal weather patterns, volcanoes, canyons and other recognizable features. However, conditions on Mars vary wildly from what we know on our own planet.

Over the past three decades, spacecraft have shown us that Mars is rocky, cold, and sterile beneath its hazy, pink sky. We've discovered that today's Martian wasteland hints at a formerly volatile world where volcanoes once raged, meteors plowed deep craters, and flash floods rushed over the land. And Mars continues to throw out new enticements with each landing or orbital pass made by our spacecraft.

The Defining Question for Mars Exploration: Life on Mars?

Among our discoveries about Mars, one stands out above all others: the possible presence of liquid water on Mars, either in its ancient past or preserved in the subsurface today. Water is key because almost everywhere we find water on Earth, we find life. If Mars once had liquid water, or still does today, it's compelling to ask whether any microscopic life forms could have developed on its surface. Is there any evidence of life in the planet's past? If so, could any of these tiny living creatures still exist today? Imagine how exciting it would be to answer, "Yes!!"

Even if Mars is devoid of past or present life, however, there's still much excitement on the horizon. We ourselves might become the "life on Mars" should humans choose to travel there one day. Meanwhile, we still have a lot to learn about this amazing planet and its extreme environments.

Our Exploration Strategy: Follow the Water!

To discover the possibilities for life on Mars--past, present or our own in the future--the Mars Program has developed an exploration strategy known as "Follow the Water."

Following the water begins with an understanding of the current environment on Mars. We want to explore observed features like dry riverbeds, ice in the polar caps and rock types that only form when water is present. We want to look for hot springs, hydrothermal vents or subsurface water reserves. We want to understand if ancient Mars once held a vast ocean in the northern hemisphere as some scientists believe and how Mars may have transitioned from a more watery environment to the dry and dusty climate it has today. Searching for these answers means delving into the planet's geologic and climate history to find out how, when and why Mars underwent dramatic changes to become the forbidding, yet promising, planet we observe today.

Future Missions

To pursue these goals, all of our future missions will be driven by rigorous scientific questions that will continuously evolve as we make new discoveries.

Brand new technologies will enable us to explore Mars in ways we never have before, resulting in higher-resolution images, precision landings, longer-ranging surface mobility and even the return of Martian soil and rock samples for studies in laboratories here on Earth.

Credit: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/programmissions/overview/

Planetary Science

Jet Propulsion Laboratory's photo

Planetary scientists work to improve our understanding of the planets, satellites and smaller bodies in the solar system through:

• Studying the atmospheres, surfaces and interiors of planets,
• Understanding the origins of planets and the physical processes at work, and
• Using radar to determine the physical characteristics of asteroids and to search for asteroids that may pose a hazard to Earth.

A SPACE JOURNEY

Visions of future we pass on to our children shape the future. Therefore it is important what those visions, as they often become prophecies of self. Dreams are like maps. No irresponsible consider outlining the scariest scenarios future, if we want to avoid, we must understand that are possible. But where are the alternatives? Where are the dreams that should motivate and inspire? We long for realistic maps of a world that we can bequeath to pride to our children. Where remain the cartographers of the purpose
human? Where are hidden hopeful future visions, the design of technology as an instrument for human progress and not as a weapon pointing to our heads?.

Source: CARL SAGAN. Pale Blue Point: A view of human future in space.