Workshop Overview:
This KISS study of the organic inventory of planetary materials occurs at an intersection of many fields including chemistry, biology, geology, and planetary science. The study will offer a state-of-the-art update of the field, sparking discussions and debates on some of the most pressing unanswered questions surrounding the generation, alteration, and preservation of organic compounds. The first study week focused on the outer solar system. The second week of this KISS Study aims to promote and inspire future scientific research proposals among participants, and inform the science objectives of sample return and in situ missions outlined in the Decadal report focusing on the inner solar system.
For the second study week, we will focus on the origin and evolution of organics in the inner solar system through the following areas:
- Current understanding of organics in the inner solar system. Location and forms of organic matter on different planetary bodies. Key questions will include:
- What have Mars missions informed us about organics? What are the discrepancies with orbiter / remote data?
- What do we know about organics on the moon?
- What is known about organics on Venus and Mercury?
- Special conditions in the inner solar system. Key questions will include:
- What are key conditions for the inner solar system and what environmental conditions will influence organic detection
- How well-characterized is organic matter in these complex, variable environments and where are they inadequately studied?
- Instrumentation developments. Key questions will include:
- What developments can we make to organic detection instruments?
- What kind of Earth-based analytical facilities would we want or be developed on a decade or 2-decade timescale to study extraterrestrial samples in storage?
- Mission Concepts. Key questions will include:
- How can ongoing missions connect to mission concepts?
- How can crewed missions connect with organic analysis without contamination?
- Are there measurements that are critical prior to crewed missions?
- Can we leverage CLIPS/commercial missions?