Life Investigation For Enceladus

Life Investigation For Enceladus (LIFE) was a proposed astrobiology mission concept that would capture icy particles from Saturn's moon Enceladus and return them to Earth, where they could be studied in detail for signs of life such as biomolecules.[1][2][3][4]

The LIFE orbiter concept was proposed by a team led by Peter Tsou to NASA's 13th Discovery Mission solicitation,[3] but the mission was not selected by NASA for Phase-A design study.[5]

  1. ^ Wall, Mike (December 6, 2012). "Saturn Moon Enceladus Eyed for Sample-Return Mission". Space.com. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
  2. ^ Tsou, Peter; Brownlee, D.E.; McKay, Christopher; Anbar, A.D.; Yano, H. (August 2012). "LIFE: Life Investigation For Enceladus A Sample Return Mission Concept in Search for Evidence of Life". Astrobiology. 12 (8): 730–742. Bibcode:2012AsBio..12..730T. doi:10.1089/ast.2011.0813. PMID 22970863. S2CID 34375065.
  3. ^ a b Tsou, Peter; Anbar, Ariel; Atwegg, Kathrin; Porco, Carolyn; Baross, John; McKay, Christopher (2014). "LIFE - Enceladus Plume Sample Return via Discovery" (PDF). 45th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
  4. ^ Tsou, Peter (2013). "LIFE: Life Investigation For Enceladus - A Sample Return Mission Concept in Search for Evidence of Life". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 12 (8): 730–42. doi:10.1089/ast.2011.0813. PMID 22970863. Archived from the original (.doc) on 2015-09-01. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
  5. ^ "NASA announces five Discovery proposals selected for further study". The Planetary Society. September 30, 2015. Retrieved 2017-01-02.