Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are found on various planetary surfaces in the solar system. They are proposed to play a role in the emergence of life, as molecules that are important for biological processes could be derived from them. In this work, four PAHs (pyrene, perylene, anthracene, and coronene) were measured using the ORganics Information Gathering INstrument system (ORIGIN), a lightweight laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometer designed for space exploration missions. In this contribution, we demonstrate the current measurement capabilities of ORIGIN in detecting PAHs at different concentrations and applied laser pulse energies. Furthermore, we show that chemical processing of the PAHs during measurement is limited and that the parent mass can be detected in the majority of cases. The instrument achieves a 3σ detection limit in the order of femtomol mm ⁻² for all four PAHs, with the possibility of further increasing this sensitivity. This work illustrates the potential of ORIGIN as an instrument for the detection of molecules important for the emergence or presence of life, especially when viewed in combination with previous results by the instrument, such as the identification of amino acids. ORIGIN could be used on a lander or rover platform for future in situ missions to targets in the solar system, such as the icy moons of Jupiter or Saturn.

Aims. Methyl isocyanate (CH3NCO) and glycolonitrile (HOCH2CN) are isomers and prebiotic molecules that are involved in the formation of peptide structures and the nucleobase adenine, respectively. These two species are investigated to study the interstellar chemistry of cyanides (CN) and isocyanates (NCO) and to gain insight into the reservoir of interstellar prebiotic molecules.Methods. ALMA observations of the intermediate-mass Class 0 protostar Serpens SMM1-a and ALMA-PILS data of the low-mass Class 0 protostar IRAS 16293B are used. Spectra are analysed with the CASSIS line analysis software package in order to identify and characterise molecules.Results. CH3NCO, HOCH2CN, and various other molecules are detected towards SMM1-a. HOCH2CN is identified in the PILS data towards IRAS 16293B in a spectrum extracted at a half-beam offset position from the peak continuum. CH3NCO and HOCH2CN are equally abundant in SMM1-a at [X]/[CH3OH] of 5.3 × 10−4 and 6.2 × 10−4, respectively. A comparison between SMM1-a and IRAS 16293B shows that HOCH2CN and HNCO are more abundant in the former source, but CH3NCO abundances do not differ significantly. Data from other sources are used to show that the [CH3NCO]/[HNCO] ratio is similar in all these sources within ~10%.Conclusions. The new detections of CH3NCO and HOCH2CN are additional evidence for a large interstellar reservoir of prebiotic molecules that can contribute to the formation of biomolecules on planets. The equal abundances of these molecules in SMM1-a indicate that their formation is driven by kinetic processes instead of thermodynamic equilibrium, which would drive the chemistry to one product. HOCH2CN is found to be much more abundant in SMM1-a than in IRAS 16293B. From the observational data, it is difficult to indicate a formation pathway for HOCH2CN, but the thermal Strecker-like reaction of CN− with H2CO is a possibility. The similar [CH3NCO]/[HNCO] ratios found in the available sample of studied interstellar sources indicate that these two species are either chemically related or their formation is affected by physical conditions in the same way. Both species likely form early during star formation, presumably via ice mantle reactions taking place in the dark cloud or when ice mantles are being heated in the hot core. The relatively high abundances of HOCH2CN and HNCO in SMM1-a may be explained by a prolonged stage of relatively warm ice mantles, where thermal and energetic processing of HCN in the ice results in the efficient formation of both species.</jats:p>

Exoplanet Proxima b will be an important laboratory for the search for extraterrestrial life for the decades ahead. Here, we discuss the prospects of detecting carbon dioxide at 15 μm using a spectral filtering technique with the Medium Resolution Spectrograph (MRS) mode of the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). At superior conjunction, the planet is expected to show a contrast of up to 100 ppm with respect to the star. At a spectral resolving power of R = 1790-2640, about 100 spectral CO₂ features are visible within the 13.2-15.8 μm (3B) band, which can be combined to boost the planet atmospheric signal by a factor of 3-4, depending on the atmospheric temperature structure and CO₂ abundance. If atmospheric conditions are favorable (assuming an Earth-like atmosphere), with this new application to the cross-correlation technique, carbon dioxide can be detected within a few days of JWST observations. However, this can only be achieved if both the instrumental spectral response and the stellar spectrum can be determined to a relative precision of ≤1 10^-4 between adjacent spectral channels. Absolute flux calibration is not required, and the method is insensitive to the strong broadband variability of the host star. Precise calibration of the spectral features of the host star may only be attainable by obtaining deep observations of the system during inferior conjunction that serve as a reference. The high-pass filter spectroscopic technique with the MIRI MRS can be tested on warm Jupiters, Neptunes, and super-Earths with significantly higher planet/star contrast ratios than the Proxima system.