Ulibarri et al. (2023) Icarus 391, 115319

Ulibarri et al. (2023) Icarus 391, 115319

文献：Ulibarri et al. (2023) Icarus 391, 115319題目：Hypervelocity Impact Ionization of Amino-Acid-Laden Dust: First Direct Measurements and Implications for Instrument Capabilities and Prebiotic Chemistry要旨：The detection and characterization of organic molecules in cosmic dust are central to understanding prebiotic chemistry and habitability across the solar system. In particular, amino acids serve as key biomarkers due to their fundamental role in terrestrial biology and their presence in abiotic extraterrestrial materials. However, the survivability and detectability of amino acids during hypervelocity impacts, typical of interplanetary dust particle (IDP) collisions and impact ionization mass spectrometer (I2MS) detections, remain poorly constrained.In this study, we present the first direct laboratory measurements of hypervelocity impact ionization of amino-acid-laden dust grains. Aluminum particles coated with histidine and arginine were accelerated at velocities ranging from ~1 to 52 km/s and analyzed using a prototype I2MS analogous to flight instruments such as IDEX and SUDA. Time-of-flight mass spectra demonstrate that both intact parent molecules and characteristic fragment ions survive impact and remain detectable at velocities up to at least ～6-7 km/s.These results provide critical validation for the capability of I2MS instruments to identify organic compounds in situ during space missions and suggest that amino acids can persist under relevant hypervelocity conditions. Consequently, continuous bombardment by IDPs may represent a viable mechanism for the delivery and redistribution of prebiotic molecules across planetary environments. This work establishes a new experimental framework for assessing organic survivability and enhances confidence in future astrobiological investigations of dust populations throughout the solar system.話者：Zachary Ernest Ulibarri (Cornell Univ.)言語：英語