Experimentally Testing Hydrothermal Vent Origin of Life on Enceladus and Other Icy/Ocean Worlds

• Published in: Astrobiology Vol. 17; no. 9; p. 820
• Main Authors: Barge, Laura M, White, Lauren M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-09-2017
• Subjects: Hydrothermal Vents; Oceans and Seas; Origin of Life; Seawater
• ISSN: 1557-8070
• DOI: 10.1089/ast.2016.1633

We review various laboratory strategies and methods that can be utilized to simulate prebiotic processes and origin of life in hydrothermal vent systems on icy/ocean worlds. Crucial steps that could be simulated in the laboratory include simulations of water-rock chemistry (e.g., serpentinization) to produce hydrothermal fluids, the types of mineral catalysts and energy gradients produced in vent interfaces where hydrothermal fluids interface with the surrounding seawater, and simulations of biologically relevant chemistry in flow-through gradient systems (i.e., far-from-equilibrium experiments). We describe some examples of experimental designs in detail, which are adaptable and could be used to test particular hypotheses about ocean world energetics or mineral/organic chemistry. Enceladus among the ocean worlds provides an ideal test case, since the pressure at the ocean floor is more easily simulated in the lab. Results for Enceladus could be extrapolated with further experiments and modeling to understand other ocean worlds. Key Words: Enceladus-Ocean worlds-Icy worlds-Hydrothermal vent-Iron sulfide-Gradient. Astrobiology 17, 820-833.