Life in Comets

He obtained his Ph.D. in Aster-Geophysics in 1982 from the University of Colorado in Boulder and has been with the NASA-ARC since that time. His current research focuses on the evolution of the solar system and the origin of Life. Dr. Chris McKay is also active in planning for future Martian missions including human settlements. His studies on Mars brought him recently to some Martian-like environments such as. to Antarctic dry valleys. to Siberian and to the Canadian Arctic. Dr. McKay received several prizes such as. the Urey Prize (1989).

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Astrobiology of comets

Hoover

Pikuta

Wickramasinghe

et al. 2004

Instruments, Methods, and Missions for Astrobiology VIII

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We review the current state of knowledge concerning microbial extremophiles and comets and the potential significance of comets to Astrobiology. We model the thermal history of a cometary body, regarded as an assemblage of boulders, dust, ices and organics, as it approaches a perihelion distance of ~ 1AU. The transfer of incident energy from sunlight into the interior leads to the melting of near surface ices, some under stable porous crust, providing possible habitats for a wide range of microorganisms. We provide data concerning new evidence for indigenous microfossils in CI meteorites, which may be the remains of extinct cometary cores. We discuss the dominant microbial communities of polar sea-ice, Antarctic ice sheet, and cryoconite environments as possible analogs for microbial ecosystems that may grow in sub-crustal pools or in ice/water films in comets.

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Life in Comets

Cited by 4 publications

References 40 publications

Theoretical and Computational Approaches to the Study of the Origin of Life

Theoretical and Computational Approaches to the Study of the Origin of Life

Life in the Cold and Dry Limits: Earth, Mars and Beyond

Astrobiology of comets

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