A remnant planetary core in the hot-Neptune desert.

The interiors of giant planets remain poorly understood. Even for the planets in the Solar System, difficulties in observation lead to large uncertainties in the properties of planetary cores. Exoplanets that have undergone rare evolutionary processes provide a route to understanding planetary interiors. Planets found in and near the typically barren hot-Neptune 'desert'1,2 (a region in mass-radius space that contains few planets) have proved to be particularly valuable in this regard. These planets include HD149026b3, which is thought to have an unusually massive core, and recent discoveries such as LTT9779b4 and NGTS-4b5, on which photoevaporation has removed a substantial part of their outer atmospheres. Here we report observations of the planet TOI-849b, which has a radius smaller than Neptune's but an anomalously large mass of [Formula: see text] Earth masses and a density of [Formula: see text] grams per cubic centimetre, similar to Earth's. Interior-structure models suggest that any gaseous envelope of pure hydrogen and helium consists of no more than [Formula: see text] per cent of the total planetary mass. The planet could have been a gas giant before undergoing extreme mass loss via thermal self-disruption or giant planet collisions, or it could have avoided substantial gas accretion, perhaps through gap opening or late formation6. Although photoevaporation rates cannot account for the mass loss required to reduce a Jupiter-like gas giant, they can remove a small (a few Earth masses) hydrogen and helium envelope on timescales of several billion years, implying that any remaining atmosphere on TOI-849b is likely to be enriched by water or other volatiles from the planetary interior. We conclude that TOI-849b is the remnant core of a giant planet.

GAUSS - genesis of asteroids and evolution of the solar system: A sample return mission to Ceres.

The goal of Project GAUSS (Genesis of Asteroids and evolUtion of the Solar System) is to return samples from the dwarf planet Ceres. Ceres is the most accessible candidate of ocean worlds and the largest reservoir of water in the inner Solar System. It shows active volcanism and hydrothermal activities in recent history. Recent evidence for the existence of a subsurface ocean on Ceres and the complex geochemistry suggest past habitability and even the potential for ongoing habitability. GAUSS will return samples from Ceres with the aim of answering the following top-level scientific questions: What is the origin of Ceres and what does this imply for the origin of water and other volatiles in the inner Solar System?What are the physical properties and internal structure of Ceres? What do they tell us about the evolutionary and aqueous alteration history of dwarf planets?What are the astrobiological implications of Ceres? Is it still habitable today?What are the mineralogical connections between Ceres and our current collections of carbonaceous meteorites?

Isotopic constraints on the source of Pluto's nitrogen and the history of atmospheric escape.

The origin and evolution of nitrogen in solar system bodies is an important question for understanding processes that took place during the formation of the planets and solar system bodies. Pluto has an atmosphere that is 99% molecular nitrogen, but it is unclear if this nitrogen is primordial or derived from ammonia in the protosolar nebula. The nitrogen isotope ratio is an important tracer of the origin of nitrogen on solar system bodies, and can be used at Pluto to determine the origin of its nitrogen. After evaluating the potential impact of escape and photochemistry on Pluto's nitrogen isotope ratio (14N/15N), we find that if Pluto's nitrogen originated as N2 the current ratio in Pluto's atmosphere would be greater than 324 while it would be less than 157 if the source of Pluto's nitrogen were NH3. The New Horizons spacecraft successfully visited the Pluto system in July 2015 providing a potential opportunity to measure 14N/15N in N2.

Investigating Europa's Habitability with the Europa Clipper.

The habitability of Europa is a property within a system, which is driven by a multitude of physical and chemical processes and is defined by many interdependent parameters, so that its full characterization requires collaborative investigation. To explore Europa as an integrated system to yield a complete picture of its habitability, the Europa Clipper mission has three primary science objectives: (1) characterize the ice shell and ocean including their heterogeneity, properties, and the nature of surface-ice-ocean exchange; (2) characterize Europa's composition including any non-ice materials on the surface and in the atmosphere, and any carbon-containing compounds; and (3) characterize Europa's geology including surface features and localities of high science interest. The mission will also address several cross-cutting science topics including the search for any current or recent activity in the form of thermal anomalies and plumes, performing geodetic and radiation measurements, and assessing high-resolution, co-located observations at select sites to provide reconnaissance for a potential future landed mission. Synthesizing the mission's science measurements, as well as incorporating remote observations by Earth-based observatories, the James Webb Space Telescope, and other space-based resources, to constrain Europa's habitability, is a complex task and is guided by the mission's Habitability Assessment Board (HAB).

Investigation of Venus Cloud Aerosol and Gas Composition Including Potential Biogenic Materials via an Aerosol-Sampling Instrument Package.

A lightweight, low-power instrument package to measure, in situ, both (1) the local gaseous environment and (2) the composition and microphysical properties of attendant venusian aerosols is presented. This Aerosol-Sampling Instrument Package (ASIP) would be used to explore cloud chemical and possibly biotic processes on future aerial missions such as multiweek balloon missions and on short-duration (<1 h) probes on Venus and potentially on other cloudy worlds such as Titan, the Ice Giants, and Saturn. A quadrupole ion-trap mass spectrometer (QITMS; Madzunkov and Nikolic, J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 25:1841-1852, 2014) fed alternately by (1) an aerosol separator that injects only aerosols into a vaporizer and mass spectrometer and (2) the pure aerosol-filtered atmosphere, achieves the compositional measurements. Aerosols vaporized <600°C are measured over atomic mass ranges from 2 to 300 AMU at <0.02 AMU resolution, sufficient to measure trace materials, their isotopic ratios, and potential biogenic materials embedded within H2SO4 aerosols, to better than 20% in <300 s for H2SO4 -relative abundances of 2 × 10-9. An integrated lightweight, compact nephelometer/particle-counter determines the number density and particle sizes of the sampled aerosols.

Sensitivity of predicted gas hydrate occupancies on treatment of intermolecular interactions.

The sensitivity of gas hydrate occupancies predicted on the basis of van der Waals-Platteeuw theory is investigated, as a function of the intermolecular guest-water interaction potential model, and of the number of water molecules taken into account. Simple analytical correction terms that account for the interactions with the water molecules beyond the cutoff distance are introduced, and shown to improve significantly the convergence rate, and hence the efficiency of the computation of the Langmuir constants. The predicted cage occupancies in pure methane and pure carbon dioxide clathrates, calculated using different recent guest-water pair potentials models derived from ab initio calculations, can vary significantly depending on the model. That sensitivity becomes especially strong in the case of multiple guest clathrates. It is shown that the abundances of coenclathrated molecules in multiple guest clathrate hydrates potentially formed on the surface of Mars can vary by more than two orders of magnitude depending on the model. These results underline the strong need for experimental data on pure and multiple guest clathrate hydrates, in particular in the temperature and pressure range that are relevant in extreme environment conditions, to discriminate among the theoretical models.

Origin of Molecular Oxygen in Comets: Current Knowledge and Perspectives.

The Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) instrument onboard the Rosetta spacecraft has measured molecular oxygen (O2) in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P/C-G) in surprisingly high abundances. These measurements mark the first unequivocal detection of O2 in a cometary environment. The large relative abundance of O2 in 67P/C-G despite its high reactivity and low interstellar abundance poses a puzzle for its origin in comet 67P/C-G, and potentially other comets. Since its detection, there have been a number of hypotheses put forward to explain the production and origin of O2 in the comet. These hypotheses cover a wide range of possibilities from various in situ production mechanisms to protosolar nebula and primordial origins. Here, we review the O2 formation mechanisms from the literature, and provide a comprehensive summary of the current state of knowledge of the sources and origin of cometary O2.

Krypton isotopes and noble gas abundances in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

The Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis mass spectrometer Double Focusing Mass Spectrometer on board the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft detected the major isotopes of the noble gases argon, krypton, and xenon in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Earlier, it was found that xenon exhibits an isotopic composition distinct from anywhere else in the solar system. However, argon isotopes, within error, were shown to be consistent with solar isotope abundances. This discrepancy suggested an additional exotic component of xenon in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. We show that krypton also exhibits an isotopic composition close to solar. Furthermore, we found the argon to krypton and the krypton to xenon ratios in the comet to be lower than solar, which is a necessity to postulate an addition of exotic xenon in the comet.

Laboratory Studies of Methane and Its Relationship to Prebiotic Chemistry.

To examine how prebiotic chemical evolution took place on Earth prior to the emergence of life, laboratory experiments have been conducted since the 1950s. Methane has been one of the key molecules in these investigations. In earlier studies, strongly reducing gas mixtures containing methane and ammonia were used to simulate possible reactions in the primitive atmosphere of Earth, producing amino acids and other organic compounds. Since Earth's early atmosphere is now considered to be less reducing, the contribution of extraterrestrial organics to chemical evolution has taken on an important role. Such organic molecules may have come from molecular clouds and regions of star formation that created protoplanetary disks, planets, asteroids, and comets. The interstellar origin of organics has been examined both experimentally and theoretically, including laboratory investigations that simulate interstellar molecular reactions. Endogenous and exogenous organics could also have been supplied to the primitive ocean, making submarine hydrothermal systems plausible sites of the generation of life. Experiments that simulate such hydrothermal systems where methane played an important role have consequently been conducted. Processes that occur in other Solar System bodies offer clues to the prebiotic chemistry of Earth. Titan and other icy bodies, where methane plays significant roles, are especially good targets. In the case of Titan, methane is both in the atmosphere and in liquidospheres that are composed of methane and other hydrocarbons, and these have been studied in simulation experiments. Here, we review the wide range of experimental work in which these various terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments have been modeled, and we examine the possible role of methane in chemical evolution. Key Words: Methane-Interstellar environments-Submarine hydrothermal systems-Titan-Origin of life. Astrobiology 17, 786-812.

The presence of clathrates in comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Cometary nuclei are considered to most closely reflect the composition of the building blocks of our solar system. As such, comets carry important information about the prevalent conditions in the solar nebula before and after planet formation. Recent measurements of the time variation of major and minor volatile species in the coma of the Jupiter family comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (67P) by the ROSINA (Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis) instrument onboard Rosetta provide insight into the possible origin of this comet. The observed outgassing pattern indicates that the nucleus of 67P contains crystalline ice, clathrates, and other ices. The observed outgassing is not consistent with gas release from an amorphous ice phase with trapped volatile gases. If the building blocks of 67P were formed from crystalline ices and clathrates, then 67P would have agglomerated from ices that were condensed and altered in the protosolar nebula closer to the Sun instead of more pristine ices originating from the interstellar medium or the outskirts of the disc, where amorphous ice may dominate.

Prebiotic chemicals-amino acid and phosphorus-in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

The importance of comets for the origin of life on Earth has been advocated for many decades. Amino acids are key ingredients in chemistry, leading to life as we know it. Many primitive meteorites contain amino acids, and it is generally believed that these are formed by aqueous alterations. In the collector aerogel and foil samples of the Stardust mission after the flyby at comet Wild 2, the simplest form of amino acids, glycine, has been found together with precursor molecules methylamine and ethylamine. Because of contamination issues of the samples, a cometary origin was deduced from the (13)C isotopic signature. We report the presence of volatile glycine accompanied by methylamine and ethylamine in the coma of 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko measured by the ROSINA (Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis) mass spectrometer, confirming the Stardust results. Together with the detection of phosphorus and a multitude of organic molecules, this result demonstrates that comets could have played a crucial role in the emergence of life on Earth.

Comparative planetology of the history of nitrogen isotopes in the atmospheres of Titan and Mars.

We present here a comparative planetology study of evolution of 14N/15N at Mars and Titan. Studies show that 14N/15N can evolve a great deal as a result of escape in the atmosphere of Mars, but not in Titan's atmosphere. We explain this through the existence of an upper limit to the amount of fractionation allowed to occur due to escape that is a function of the escape flux and the column density of nitrogen.

Methane clathrates in the solar system.

We review the reservoirs of methane clathrates that may exist in the different bodies of the Solar System. Methane was formed in the interstellar medium prior to having been embedded in the protosolar nebula gas phase. This molecule was subsequently trapped in clathrates that formed from crystalline water ice during the cooling of the disk and incorporated in this form into the building blocks of comets, icy bodies, and giant planets. Methane clathrates may play an important role in the evolution of planetary atmospheres. On Earth, the production of methane in clathrates is essentially biological, and these compounds are mostly found in permafrost regions or in the sediments of continental shelves. On Mars, methane would more likely derive from hydrothermal reactions with olivine-rich material. If they do exist, martian methane clathrates would be stable only at depth in the cryosphere and sporadically release some methane into the atmosphere via mechanisms that remain to be determined. In the case of Titan, most of its methane probably originates from the protosolar nebula, where it would have been trapped in the clathrates agglomerated by the satellite's building blocks. Methane clathrates are still believed to play an important role in the present state of Titan. Their presence is invoked in the satellite's subsurface as a means of replenishing its atmosphere with methane via outgassing episodes. The internal oceans of Enceladus and Europa also provide appropriate thermodynamic conditions that allow formation of methane clathrates. In turn, these clathrates might influence the composition of these liquid reservoirs. Finally, comets and Kuiper Belt Objects might have formed from the agglomeration of clathrates and pure ices in the nebula. The methane observed in comets would then result from the destabilization of clathrate layers in the nuclei concurrent with their approach to perihelion. Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations show that methane-rich clathrate layers may exist on Pluto as well. Key Words: Methane clathrate-Protosolar nebula-Terrestrial planets-Outer Solar System. Astrobiology 15, 308-326.

Detection of argon in the coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Comets have been considered to be representative of icy planetesimals that may have contributed a significant fraction of the volatile inventory of the terrestrial planets. For example, comets must have brought some water to Earth. However, the magnitude of their contribution is still debated. We report the detection of argon and its relation to the water abundance in the Jupiter family comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko by in situ measurement of the Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis (ROSINA) mass spectrometer aboard the Rosetta spacecraft. Despite the very low intensity of the signal, argon is clearly identified by the exact determination of the mass of the isotope (36)Ar and by the (36)Ar/(38)Ar ratio. Because of time variability and spatial heterogeneity of the coma, only a range of the relative abundance of argon to water can be given. Nevertheless, this range confirms that comets of the type 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko cannot be the major source of Earth's major volatiles.

PROTOSOLAR AMMONIA AS THE UNIQUE SOURCE OF TITAN's NITROGEN.

The origin of Titan's nitrogen-rich atmosphere is thought to be ammonia ice, but this has not yet been confirmed. Furthermore, it is uncertain whether the building blocks of Titan formed within the Saturnian subnebula or in the colder protosolar nebula (PSN). Recent measurements of the nitrogen isotope ratio in cometary ammonia, combined with evolutionary constraints on the nitrogen isotopes in Titan's atmosphere provide firm evidence that the nitrogen in Titan's atmosphere must have originated as ammonia ice formed in the PSN under conditions similar to that of cometary formation. This result has important implications for the projected D/H ratio in cometary methane, nitrogen isotopic fractionation in the PSN and the source of nitrogen for Earth's atmosphere.

On the abundances of noble and biologically relevant gases in Lake Vostok, Antarctica.

Motivated by the possibility of comparing theoretical predictions of Lake Vostok's composition with future in situ measurements, we investigated the composition of clathrates that are expected to form in this environment from the air supplied to the lake by melting ice. To establish the best possible correlation between the lake water composition and that of air clathrates formed in situ, we used a statistical thermodynamic model based on the description of the guest-clathrate interaction by a spherically averaged Kihara potential with a nominal set of potential parameters. We determined the fugacities of the different volatiles present in the lake by defining a "pseudo" pure substance dissolved in water owning the average properties of the mixture and by using the Redlich-Kwong equation of state to mimic its thermodynamic behavior. Irrespective of the clathrate structure considered in our model, we found that xenon and krypton are strongly impoverished in the lake water (a ratio in the 0.04-0.1 range for xenon and a ratio in the ≈ 0.15-0.3 range for krypton) compared to their atmospheric abundances. Argon and methane were also found to be depleted in the Lake Vostok water by factors in the 0.5-0.95 and 0.3-0.5 ranges, respectively, compared to their atmospheric abundances. On the other hand, the carbon dioxide abundance was found to be substantially enriched in the lake water compared to its atmospheric abundance (by a factor in the 1.6-5 range at 200 residence times). The comparison of our predictions of the CO2 and CH4 mole fractions in Lake Vostok with future in situ measurements will allow disentangling between the possible supply sources.

Volatile inventories in clathrate hydrates formed in the primordial nebula.

The examination of ambient thermodynamic conditions suggests that clathrate hydrates could exist in the Martian permafrost, on the surface and in the interior of Titan, as well as in other icy satellites. Clathrate hydrates are probably formed in a significant fraction of planetesimals in the solar system. Thus, these crystalline solids may have been accreted in comets, in the forming giant planets and in their surrounding satellite systems. In this work, we use a statistical thermodynamic model to investigate the composition of clathrate hydrates that may have formed in the primordial nebula. In our approach, we consider the formation sequence of the different ices occurring during the cooling of the nebula, a reasonable idealization of the process by which volatiles are trapped in planetesimals. We then determine the fractional occupancies of guests in each clathrate hydrate formed at a given temperature. The major ingredient of our model is the description of the guest-clathrate hydrate interaction by a spherically averaged Kihara potential with a nominal set of parameters, most of which are fitted to experimental equilibrium data. Our model allows us to find that Kr, Ar and N2 can be efficiently encaged in clathrate hydrates formed at temperatures higher than approximately 48.5 K in the primitive nebula, instead of forming pure condensates below 30 K. However, we find at the same time that the determination of the relative abundances of guest species incorporated in these clathrate hydrates strongly depends on the choice of the parameters of the Kihara potential and also on the adopted size of cages. Indeed, by testing different potential parameters, we have noted that even minor dispersions between the different existing sets can lead to non-negligible variations in the determination of the volatiles trapped in clathrate hydrates formed in the primordial nebula. However, these variations are not found to be strong enough to reverse the relative abundances between the different volatiles in the clathrate hydrates themselves. On the other hand, if contraction or expansion of the cages due to temperature variations are imposed in our model, the Ar and Kr mole fractions can be modified up to several orders of magnitude in clathrate hydrates. Moreover, mole fractions of other molecules such as N2 or CO are also subject to strong changes with the variation of the size of the cages. Our results may affect the predictions of the composition of the planetesimals formed in the outer solar system. In particular, the volatile abundances calculated in the giant planets' atmospheres should be altered because these quantities are proportional to the mass of accreted and vaporized icy planetesimals. For similar reasons, the estimates of the volatile budgets accreted by icy satellites and comets may also be altered by our calculations. For instance, under some conditions, our calculations predict that the abundance of argon in the atmosphere of Titan should be higher than the value measured by Huygens. Moreover, the Ar abundance in comets could be higher than the value predicted by models invoking the incorporation of volatiles in the form of clathrate hydrates in these bodies.