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Habitable from the start: How initial planetary formation conditions may create habitable worlds

Benjamin J. Farcy, Darryl Z. Seligman, Kathleen E. Mandt, John W. Noonan, Sarah E. Anderson

Abstract

The breadth of topics that encompass the search for life has expanded and evolved significantly since the emergence of the field of astrobiology. Initial astrobiology centered investigations focused on detecting biosignatures in the Martian soil with the Viking lander. The field now encompasses identification of biosignatures throughout the galaxy and habitable worlds, planets with sufficient liquid water and prebiotic chemistry to support life. This evolution mirrors the improvement in our understanding of environments that may harbor life. The bulk planetary chemistry governs the habitability of a planet, which is in turn set by the early solar system environment and planet formation processes. Therefore, investigations of solar and exoplanetary systems as a whole would provide insights into the factors that make a planet habitable. Bulk planetary chemistry govern planetary atmospheres, core sizes, magnetic fields, heat engines, volatile inventories, and silicate mantle compositions. We therefore advocate for investigations of formation conditions that establish planetary chemistry, and by extension, habitability.

Habitable from the start: How initial planetary formation conditions may create habitable worlds

Abstract

The breadth of topics that encompass the search for life has expanded and evolved significantly since the emergence of the field of astrobiology. Initial astrobiology centered investigations focused on detecting biosignatures in the Martian soil with the Viking lander. The field now encompasses identification of biosignatures throughout the galaxy and habitable worlds, planets with sufficient liquid water and prebiotic chemistry to support life. This evolution mirrors the improvement in our understanding of environments that may harbor life. The bulk planetary chemistry governs the habitability of a planet, which is in turn set by the early solar system environment and planet formation processes. Therefore, investigations of solar and exoplanetary systems as a whole would provide insights into the factors that make a planet habitable. Bulk planetary chemistry govern planetary atmospheres, core sizes, magnetic fields, heat engines, volatile inventories, and silicate mantle compositions. We therefore advocate for investigations of formation conditions that establish planetary chemistry, and by extension, habitability.

Paper Structure

This paper contains 8 sections, 2 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Suggested Major Themes
  3. Bulk Composition
  4. Volatile Element Abundance
  5. Planetary Cores
  6. Planetary Heat Engine
  7. Conclusions
  8. acknowledgments

Figures (2)

  • Figure 1: Volatile element abundance of bulk Mars and Earth relative to chondrites yoshizaki2020composition. As volatile element abundance increases with heliocentric distance, Mars is enriched in volatiles.
  • Figure 2: Ratio of metallic Fe to oxidized FeO of the rocky terrestrial planets, and its influence on the mass fraction of the planets core. Modified from cartier2019role.