Structural Biosignatures—A Category of Potential Biosignatures in the Life Detection Knowledge Base
The Life Detection Knowledge Base (LDKB) is part of the Life Detection Forum suite of web tools developed for life detection mission planners. This article details the development of one of its categories of biosignatures, the <i>Structure</i> category. The <i>Structure</i> category includes physical attributes of objects and their spatial relationships (e.g., orientation). Initial population of the LDKB <i>Structure</i> category performed during a Content Development Group (CDG) phase resulted in the selection of six high-priority biosignature themes for content development: crystal habits, microtunnels, Mesa Depression Relief structures (a sedimentary surface morphology), laminations, spheroids, and filaments. In populating content, it was concluded that environmental considerations are crucial to recognize structural biosignatures remotely for planetary exploration when not known <i>a priori</i>. CDG activity also revealed knowledge and technology gaps in identifying structural biosignatures. This included gaps in research on biological prevalence of structural features due to a lack of research on these topics and a gap in technologies for <i>in situ</i> surface imaging of potential structural biosignatures. In addition, the implementation of two functionalities in the tool (i.e., linking multiple lines of evidence within entries and including images to represent physical biosignature attributes) resulted directly from CDG activity. These improvements enhance the LDKB's ability to serve as a comprehensive repository for data on true biosignatures and their abiotic counterparts.
Authors
- Jon Lima-Zaloumis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6333-9704)
- David J. Des Marais (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6827-5831)
- Alfonso F. Dávila (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0977-9909)
- Nora Noffke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3103-3019)
- Andrew Pohorille (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8562-6595)
- Barbara Cavalazzi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5135-9529)
- Sherry L. Cady (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8477-1106)
- M. R. Fisk
- Scott M. Perl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9228-9996)
- Jennifer G. Blank (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8830-9755)
- Svetlana Shkolyar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9641-1071)
- Keyron Hickman‐Lewis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8014-233X)
- Sally L. Potter‐McIntyre (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5556-1209)
- Ashley Murphy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2533-6224)
- Nicola McLoughlin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0410-5160)
- Francès Westall
- Leslie Bebout
- J. Hank Rainwater (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5328-0198)
- Elizabeth A. Corbin
Institutions
- Southern Illinois University Carbondale (US)
- Portland State University (US)
- Ames Research Center (US)
- Planetary Science Institute (US)
- Goddard Space Flight Center (US)
- Georgia Institute of Technology (US)
- Oregon State University (US)
- Rhodes University (ZA)
- University of Johannesburg (ZA)
- Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (US)
- Applied Technical Services (United States) (US)
- Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire (FR)
- Blue Marble Space (US)
- Johnson Space Center (US)
- Blue Marble Space Institute of Science (US)
- Arizona State University (US)
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
- Old Dominion University (US)
- University of Bologna (IT)
- Birkbeck, University of London (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Astrobiology
- Published
- 2025-07-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2024.0105
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Planetary Science and Exploration
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.31