Astrophysics and Astronomy Commons^™

Mars-Relevant Phosphate Minerals And Implications For Martian Habitability, Christopher Adcock

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation is comprised of three studies focused on martian phosphate availability, with an introductory chapter introducing and linking the three studies. Chapter two is on the subject of merrillite synthesis. Merrillite is an extraterrestrial Ca-phosphate mineral similar to the mineral whitlockite and is found as a dominant primary phosphate mineral in martian meteorites. The chapter includes methods of whitlockite and merrillite synthesis as well as a detailed characterization of the produced minerals and a mechanism by which charge balance can be maintained when merrillite is synthesized through dehydrogenation of whitlockite.

Chapter three presents the results of kinetic and thermodynamic …

Report On The Workshop For Life Detection In Samples From Mars, Gerhard Kminek, Catherine Conley, Carlton C. Allen, Douglas H. Bartlett, David W. Beaty, Liane G. Benning, Rohit Bhatia, Penelope J. Boston, Caroline Duchaine, Jack D. Farmer, George J. Flynn, Daniel P. Glavin, Yuri Gorby, John E. Hallsworth, Rakesh Mogul, Duane Moser, P. Buford Price, Ruediger Pukall, David Fernandez-Remolar, Caroline L. Smith, Kenneth M. Stedman, Andrew Steele, Ramunas Stepanauskas, Henry Sun, Jorge L. Vago, Mary A. Voytek, Paul S. Weiss, Frances Westfall

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The question of whether there is or was life on Mars has been one of the most pivotal since Schiaparellis’ telescopic observations of the red planet. With the advent of the space age, this question can be addressed directly by exploring the surface of Mars and by bringing samples to Earth for analysis. The latter, however, is not free of problems. Life can be found virtually everywhere on Earth. Hence the potential for contaminating the Mars samples and compromising their scientific integrity is not negligible. Conversely, if life is present in samples from Mars, this may represent a potential source …