Abstract
By extrapolating what we know on the origins of life on Earth, and in particular on the chemical processes which gave rise to the first living system, Europa and Titan appear as two major targets for studies of exo/astrobiology in the outer solar system. With the likely presence of water oceans relatively close to its surface, coupled to possible sources of organics, the emergence and sustaining of life on Europa seems possible. On Titan, it cannot be ruled out. But the main exobiological interest of the largest satellite of Saturn is the presence of a complex organic chemistry which shows many similarities with the prebiotic chemistry which allowed the emergence of life on Earth.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abbas, O., and Schulze-Makuch, D.: 2002, ‘Acetylene-based pathways for prebiotic evolution on Titan’, ESA SP-518, 345–348.
Artemieva, N. and Lunine, J.: 2003, ‘Cratering on Titan: impact melt, ejecta, and the fate of surface organics’, Icarus 164, 471–480.
Benner, S.: 2002, ‘Weird life: chances versus necessity’, Communication at ‘Weird Life’ planning session for NRC Committee on the origins and evolution of life, National Academies of Sciences, USA, http://www7.nationalacademies.org/ssb/weirdlife.html Bernard, J.-M., Coll, P., and Raulin, F.: 2002, ‘Variation of C/N and C/H ratios of Titan’s aerosols analogues’, Proc. 2d European Workshop on Exo-/Astro-Biology, ESA SP-518, 623–625.
Bernard, J.-M., Coll, P., Coustenis, A., and Raulin, F.: 2003, ‘Experimental simulation of Titan’s atmosphere detection of ammonia and ethylene oxide’, Planet. Space Sci. 51, 1003–1011.
Brack, A. (ed.): 1998, The Molecular Origins of Life: Assembling Pieces of the Puzzle, Cambridge, New York, Sydney: Cambridge University Press.
Campbell, D.B., Black, G.J., Carter, L.M., and Ostro, S.J.: 2003, ‘Radar evidence for liquid surfaces on Titan’, Science 302, 431–434.
Chela-Flores, J.: 1998, ‘Possible degree of evolution of solar-system microorganisms’, in J. Chela- Flores and F. Raulin (eds.), Exobiology: Matter, Energy and Information in the Origin and Evolution of Life in the Universe, Kluwer Academic Publishers, pp. 229–234.
Chyba, C.F. and Phillips, C.B.: 2002, ‘Europa as an abode of life’, Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere 32, 47–68.
Clarke, D.W. and Ferris, J.P.: 1997, ‘Titan haze: structure and properties of cyanoacetylene and cyano-acetylene-acetylene photopolymers’, Icarus 127, 158–172.
Coll, P., Coscia, D., Gazeau, M.-C., and Raulin, F.: 1998, ‘Review and latest results of laboratory investigation of Titan’s aerosols’, Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere 28, 195–213.
Coll, P., Coscia, D., Smith, N., Gazeau, M.C., Ramirez, S.I., Cernogora, G., Israel, G., and Raulin, F.: 1999a, ‘Experimental laboratory simulation of Titan’s atmosphere: aerosols and gas phase’, Planet. Space Sci. 47, 1331–1340.
Coll, P., Guillemin, J.C., Gazeau, M.C., and Raulin, F.: 1999b, ‘Report and implications of the first observation of C4N2 in laboratory simulations of Titan’s atmosphere’, Planet. Space Sci. 47, 1433–1440.
Coll, P., Bernard, J.-M., Navarro-González, R., and Raulin, F.: 2003, ‘Oxirane: an exotic oxygenated organic compound in Titan?’, Astrophys. J. 598, 700–703.
Ehrenfreund, P., Boon, J.P., Commandeur, J., Sagan, C., Thompson, W.R., and Khare, B.N.: 1995, ‘Analytical pyrolysis experiments of Titan aerosol analogues in preparation for the Cassini-Huygens mission’, Adv. Space Res. 15, 335–342.
Ferris, J.P. and Hagan, W.J.: 1984, ‘HCN and chemical evolution: the possible role of cyano compounds in prebiotic synthesis’, Tetrahedron 40, 1093–1120.
Fortes, A.D.: 2000, ‘Exobiological implications of a possible ammonia-water ocean inside Titan’, Icarus 146, 444–452.
Grasset, O., Sotin, C., and Deschamps, F.: 2000, ‘On the internal structure and dynamics of Titan’, Planet. Space Sci. 48, 617–636.
Haldane, J.B.S.: 1929, The Origin of Life, Rationnalist Annual.
Imanaka, H., Khare, B.N., Elsila, J.E., Bakes, E.L.O., McKay, C.P., Cruikshank, D.P., Sugita, S., Matsui, T., and Zare, R.N.: 2004, ‘Laboratory experiments of Titan tholin formed in cold plasma at various pressures: implications for nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic compounds in Titan haze’, Icarus 168, 344–366.
Kargel, J., Kaye, J., Head, J., Marion, G., Sassen, R., Crowley, J., Ballesteros, O., Grant, S. and Hogenboom, D. : 2000, ‘Europa’s crust and ocean: origin, composition and the prospect for life’, Icarus 148, 226–265.
Khare, B.N., Sagan, C., Arakawa, E.T., Suits, F., Callicott, T.A., and Williams, M.W.: 1984, ‘Optical constants of organic tholins produced in a simulated Titanian atmosphere: from soft X-rays to microwave frequencies’, Icarus 60, 127–137.
Khare, B.N., Sagan, C., Ogino, H., Nagy, B., Er, C., Schram, K.H., and Arakawa, E.T.: 1986, ‘Amino acids derived from Titan tholins’, Icarus 68, 176–184.
Kress, M.E. and McKay, C.P.: 2004, ‘Formation of methane in comet impacts: implications for Earth, Mars, and Titan’, Icarus 168, 475–483.
Lorenz, R: 2000, ‘Post-Cassini exploration of Titan: science rational and mission concepts’, J. British Interplan. Soc. 53, 218–234.
Lunine, J.I.: 1993, ‘Does Titan have an ocean? A review of current understanding of Titan’s surface’, Rev. Geophys. 31, 133–149.
McDonald, G.D., Thompson, W.R., Heinrich, M., Khare, B.N., and Sagan, C.: 1994, ‘Chemical investigation of Titan and Triton tholins’, Icarus 108, 137–145.
McKay, C.P.: 1996, ‘Elemental composition, solubility, and optical properties of Titan’s organic haze’, Planet. Space Sci. 44, 741–747.
Melosh, H.J., Ekholm, A.G., Showman, A.P., and Lorenz, R.D.: 2004, ‘The temperature of Europa’s subsurface water ocean’, Icarus 168, 498–502.
Miller, S.L.: 1953, ‘A production of aminoacids under possible primitive Earth conditions’, Science 117, 528–529.
Miller, S.L.: 1998, ‘The endogenous synthesis of organic compounds’, in A. Brack (ed.), The Molecular Origins of Life: Assembling Pieces of the Puzzle, pp. 59-85, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, New York, Sydney, pp. 59–85.
Miller, S.L. and Orgel, L.: 1974, The origins of life on the Earth, Prentice Hall, N. Jersey.
Oparin, A.I.: 1938, The Origin of Life, Macmillan, New York.
Oro, J., Squyres, S. W., Reynolds, R.T., and Mills, T.M.: 1992, ‘Europa: prospects for an ocean and exobiological implications’, in G. Carle, D. Schwartz, and J. Huntington (eds.), Exobiology in Solar System Exploration, NASA SP-512, 102–125.
Owen, T.: 2000, ‘On the origin of Titan’s atmosphere’, Planet. Space Sci. 48, 747–752.
Ramirez, S.I., Coll, P., Da Silva, A., Navarro-Gonzalez, R., Lafait, J., and Raulin, F.: 2002, ‘Complex refractive index of Titan’s aerosol analogues in the 200–900 nm domain’, Icarus 156, 515–530.
Raulin, F.: 1990, ‘Prebiotic syntheses of biologically interesting monomers in aqueous solutions: facts and constraints’, J. British Interplanet. Soc. 43, 39–45.
Raulin, F. and Frére, C.: 1989, ‘Gas phase organic syntheses in planetary environments, and the case of Titan’, J. British Interplan. Soc. 42, 411–422.
Raulin, F. and Owen, T.: 2002, ‘Organic chemistry and exobiology on Titan’, Space Sci. Rev. 104, 379–395.
Raulin, F., Bruston, P., Paillous, P., and Sternberg, R.: 1995, ‘The low temperature organic chemistry of Titan’s geofluid’, Adv. Space Res. 15, 321–333.
Reynolds, R., Squyres, S., Colburn, D., and McKay, C.P.: 1983, ‘On the habitability of Europa’, Icarus 56, 246–254.
Sagan, C. and Khare, B.N.: 1979, ‘Tholins : Organic chemistry of interstellar grains and gas’, Nature 277, 102–107.
Schulze-Makuch, D. and Irwin, L.N.: 2004, Life in the Universe, Expectations and Constraints, Springer.
Simakov, M.B.: 2001, ‘The possible sites for exobiological activities on Titan’, ESA SP-496, 211–214.
Souchez, R., Jean Baptiste, P., Petit, J.R., Lipenkov, V.Y., and Jouzel, J.: 2002, ‘What is the deepest part of the Vostok ice core is telling us?’, Earth-Science Reviews 60, 131–146.
Stoker, C.R., Boston, P.J., Mancinelli, R.L., Segal, W., Khare, B. N., and Sagan, C.: 1990, ‘Microbial metabolism of tholins’, Icarus 85, 241–256.
Strobel, D.F.: 2005, ‘Photochemistry in outer solar system atmospheres’, Space Sci. Rev., this volume.
Tran, B.N., Joseph, J.C., Ferris, J.P., Persans, P.D., and Chera, J.J.: 2003, ‘Simulation of Titan haze formation using a photochemical flow reactor: The optical constants of the polymer’, Icarus 165, 379–390.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Raulin, F. Exo-Astrobiological Aspects of Europa and Titan: From Observations to Speculations. Space Sci Rev 116, 471–487 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-005-1967-x
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-005-1967-x