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Searching for Extraterrestrial Amino Acids in a Contaminated Meteorite: Amino Acid Analyses of the Canakkale L6 ChondriteAmino acids can serve as important markers of cosmochemistry, as their abundances and isomeric and isotopic compositions have been found to vary predictably with changes in parent body chemistry and alteration processes. Amino acids are also of astrobiological interest because they are essential for life on Earth. Analyses of a range of meteorites, including all groups of carbonaceous chondrites, along with H, R, and LL chondrites, ureilites, and a martian shergottite, have revealed that amino acids of plausible extraterrestrial origin can be formed in and persist after a wide range of parent body conditions. However, amino acid analyses of L6 chondrites to date have not provided evidence for indigenous amino acids. In the present study, we performed amino acid analysis on larger samples of a different L6 chondite, Canakkale, to determine whether or not trace levels of indigenous amino acids could be found. The Canakkale meteor was an observed fall in late July, 1964, near Canakkale, Turkey. The meteorite samples (1.36 and 1.09 g) analyzed in this study were allocated by C. Y. Ornek, along with a soil sample (1.5 g) collected near the Canakkale recovery site.
Document ID
20160002360
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Burton, A. S.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Elsila, J. E.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Glavin, D. P.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Dworkin, J. P.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Ornek, C. Y.
(Istanbul Univ. Turkey)
Esenoglu, H. H.
(Istanbul Univ. Turkey)
Unsalan, O.
(Istanbul Univ. Turkey)
Ozturk, B.
(Istanbul Univ. Turkey)
Date Acquired
February 26, 2016
Publication Date
March 21, 2016
Subject Category
Exobiology
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Report/Patent Number
JSC-CN-35555
Meeting Information
Meeting: Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
Location: The Woodlands, TX
Country: United States
Start Date: March 21, 2016
End Date: March 25, 2016
Sponsors: Lunar and Planetary Inst.
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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