Research

Using data collected by Cassini's Cosmic Dust Analyzer (CDA) and Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS), I am researching the probable organic molecules that could exist within Enceladus's sub-ice shell ocean. My approach utilizes temperature and pressure cycling of basic, reactive material detected by both CDA and INMS (e.g. HCN, CH2O, NH3...). Results have been analyzed at both ELSI and the Frank Postberg laboratory's Laser Induced Liquid Beam Ion Desorption - Mass Spectrometer (LILBID-MS) in Berlin, DE.

Objectives

What molecules were detected by Cassini? Are there any simple canonical molecules that were obscured in the spectra? What material on chondritic bodies can be explained by an aqueous phase? These are all questions that we are considering during this project.

Results

Paper is in preparation. So far, temperature has played the most vital role in chemical abundance, but not chemical diversity. A steady color change can be observed in our mixtures. A wide array of amino acids and other organic compounds formed, aligning with predicted pathways. 

As impossible as it may seem, I am currently investigating the potential of a frozen solution to act as a "drying phase". Miyakawa et al., The Cold Origin of Life (2002) showed the formation of many purine and pyrimidine molecules through simply freezing of an ammonium cyanide solution. More recently, Zandanel et al., Nature Astronomy (2022) showed that ammonia solutions can aqueously alter olivine at temperatures as low as -20 C. This type of chemistry and its mechanisms could have great implications for icy bodies like Enceladus, Ryugu, or even early Earth.

One way I think it could work is through forming highly concentrated nuclei in the ice matrix, demonstrated in the figure below: