Missions

Extraction and characterization of molecular biosignatures (nature, amount, distribution) present in sample surface analogues of targeted planetary bodies such as Mars and the ocean worlds of the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn (e.g. Enceladus, Europa, Titan). The samples targeted will include natural samples collected during various field campaigns, such as minerals from lava tubes, hydrothermal environments or stromatolites, and samples synthetized in the laboratory (e.g. mixtures of minerals and organic molecule(s) and/or microbial communities) to support data interpretation and highlight the minerals and biogeochemical processes involved in the preservation of biosignatures in the variety of samples studied.

Activités

Solid sample preparation (freeze-dry, crushing, etc.), extraction of organic molecules using solvents (solid-liquid, liquid-liquid), extraction of organic molecules using thermal treatment (pyrolysis), exploration and comparison with other extraction techniques (e.g. supercritical extractions), separation techniques such as gas chromatography (GC) and liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS).

Compétences

Solvent extraction techniques (solid-liquid, liquid-liquid), isolation and identification of biosignatures (e.g. lipids, amino acids), chromatographic column separation, data processing, evaluation of the source(s) of detected biomolecules, statistical analyses, autonomy, motivation, rigor and initiative in the laboratory, fluent english.

Contexte de travail

LATMOS is involved in several national and international projects, and participates in the development of flight-instruments, the analysis and interpretation of their data, as well as in the optimization of space analytical procedures through the characterization of environments and samples analogous to the planetary surfaces targeted by current and future missions. Numerous environments and analogues have been identified as priority targets for exobiology for their active life and microbial diversity (1): surface and deep subsurface hydrothermal environments, basaltic subterraneans (e.g., lava tubes) as well as atypical aqueous environments (e.g., acidic salt lakes); or for their potential to preserve traces of extinct life (i.e., biosignatures) (2): geological terrains such as Precambrian fossilized strata. Many of these environments have been studied independently to assess their habitability, but (bio)geochemical processes remain poorly understood and studied on a large scale.

Le poste se situe dans un secteur relevant de la protection du potentiel scientifique et technique (PPST), et nécessite donc, conformément à la réglementation, que votre arrivée soit autorisée par l'autorité compétente du MESR.

Contraintes et risques

Exposure to chemical products