Dr. Samuel Kounaves

In-situ Planetary and Extreme Biogeochemical Analysis The Kounaves group research is aimed at unraveling fundamental questions in planetary science using modern in-situ or on-site analytical systems designed to study the biogeochemistry of extreme environments, where no one has gone before. As Phoenix mission Co-I and Lead Scientist for the Wet Chemistry Lab (WCL), Professor Kounaves and his group performed the first wet chemical analysis of the martian soil. The experiments revealed an alkaline soil containing a variety of soluble minerals, including perchlorate, that has altered the way we view the chemistry of Mars and its potential to support life. The discovery of perchlorate on Mars lead the group to investigate the same possibility in the Antarctic Dry Valleys. The study provided the first unambiguous discovery and clear evidence of the ubiquitous natural formation of perchlorate on Earth, with accumulation in arid environments and global atmospheric production. While participating in the upcoming MSL Curiosity science return, his group is also leading the development of the next generation wet chemical analyses for a future Mars mission, possibly in 2018 or 2020. In addition to the current investigations exploring Mars' geochemistry and its potential for supporting past or present microbial life in surface or subsurface environments, their research (funded by NASA and NSF) also includes understanding the geochemical and environmental history as recorded by the chemistry of planetary surface materials, and the geobiochemistry in extreme environments on Earth in places such as the Antarctic Dry Valleys, Death Valley, and mid-Atlantic deep-ocean thermal vents. They are also interested in applying similar techniques to investigate the surface and sub-glacial oceans on other planetary bodies such as Jupiter's moon, Europa. The group's research in astrobiology is focused on exploring concepts and analytical techniques for unambiguous detection of microbial life in extraterrestrial settings, and the survivability of organics on Mars' surface.