Le LISA, Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques est une unité de recherche de structure originale dépendant des Universités Paris Est Créteil et Paris Diderot, et du CNRS (UMR CNRS 7583).
Le LISA compte environ 130 personnes, dont 50 enseignants-chercheurs et chercheurs (CNRS & IRD), 36 ITA-IATOS et environ 45 post-doctorants, doctorants et étudiants de Master.
Il dispose d'un important potentiel technique et expérimental réparti sur 3.600m2 de locaux à Créteil et d'une antenne opérationnelle sur le site Paris Rive Gauche, incluant aussi des équipements lourds. Les recherches y sont développées autour d’un thème générale : l’Atmosphère (comme le nom du laboratoire l’indique), Ses principaux thèmes de recherche portent ainsi sur la compréhension du fonctionnement des atmosphères terrestres et planétaires, et des impacts liés à la modification de la composition de l'atmosphère par les activités humaines. Les méthodes utilisées sont fondées sur des observations en atmosphère réelle, sur de la simulation expérimentale en laboratoire et de la modélisation numérique.
Pour mener à bien ces recherches, le LISA regroupe des scientifiques de plusieurs disciplines : physiciens, géochimistes, environnementalistes et une majorité de chimistes. Ce dernier aspect est une de ses caractéristiques importantes par rapport aux autres laboratoires du domaine. Un département technique (doté de 4 pôles : chimie, instrumentation, terrain et informatique) et un département administratif sont en soutien des activités de recherche.
Date: 28 Mar 2015 - 20:53
Desc: Most of the phyllosilicates detected at the surface of Mars today are probably remnants of ancient environments that sustained long-term bodies of liquid water at the surface or subsurface and were possibly favorable for the emergence of life. Consequently, phyllosilicates have become the main mineral target in the search for organics on Mars. But are phyllosilicates efficient at preserving organic molecules under current environmental conditions at the surface of Mars? We monitored the qualitative and quantitative evolutions of glycine, urea, and adenine in interaction with the Fe3+-smectite clay nontronite, one of the most abundant phyllosilicates present at the surface of Mars, under simulated martian surface ultraviolet light (190–400 nm), mean temperature (218±2 K), and pressure (6±1 mbar) in a laboratory simulation setup. We tested organic-rich samples that were representative of the evaporation of a small, warm pond of liquid water containing a high concentration of organics. For each molecule, we observed how the nontronite influences its quantum efficiency of photodecomposition and the nature of its solid evolution products. The results reveal a pronounced photoprotective effect of nontronite on the evolution of glycine and adenine; their efficiencies of photodecomposition were reduced by a factor of 5 when mixed at a concentration of 2.6×10−2 mol of molecules per gram of nontronite. Moreover, when the amount of nontronite in the sample of glycine was increased by a factor of 2, the gain of photoprotection was multiplied by a factor of 5. This indicates that the photoprotection provided by the nontronite is not a purely mechanical shielding effect but is also due to stabilizing interactions. No new evolution product was firmly identified, but the results obtained with urea suggest a particular reactivity in the presence of nontronite, leading to an increase of its dissociation rate
Date: 1 Jan 2017 - 11:19
Desc: In 1976, the Viking landers carried out the most comprehensive search for organics and microbial life in the martian regolith. Their results indicate that Mars' surface is lifeless and, surprisingly, depleted in organics at part-per-billion levels. Several biology experiments on the Viking landers gave controversial results that have since been explained by the presence of oxidizing agents on the surface of Mars. These oxidants may degrade abiotic or biological organics, resulting in their nondetection in the regolith. As several exploration missions currently focus on the detection of organics on Mars (or will do so in the near future), knowledge of the oxidative state of the surface is fundamental. It will allow for determination of the capability of organics to survive on a geological timescale, the most favorable places to seek them, and the best methods to process the samples collected at the surface. With this aim, we review the main oxidants assumed to be present on Mars, their possible formation pathways, and those laboratory studies in which their reactivity with organics under Mars-like conditions has been evaluated. Among the oxidants assumed to be present on Mars, only four have been detected so far: perchlorate ions (ClO<sub>4</sub><sup>-</sup>) in salts, hydrogen peroxide (H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>) in the atmosphere, and clays and metal oxides composing surface minerals. Clays have been suggested as catalysts for the oxidation of organics but are treated as oxidants in the following to keep the structure of this article straightforward. This work provides an insight into the oxidizing potential of the surface of Mars and an estimate of the stability of organic matter in an oxidizing environment.
Date: 20 Aug 2017 - 15:17
Desc: The Mars Organic Molecule Analyzer (MOMA) instrument onboard the ESA/Roscosmos ExoMars rover (to launch in July, 2020) will analyze volatile and refractory organic compounds in martian surface and subsurface sediments. In this study, we describe the design, current status of development, and analytical capabilities of the instrument. Data acquired on preliminary MOMA flight-like hardware and experimental setups are also presented, illustrating their contribution to the overall science return of the mission.
Date: 12 Sep 2019 - 16:49
Desc: The search for organic molecules at the surface of Mars is a top priority of the Mars Science Laboratory (NASA) and ExoMars 2020 (ESA) space missions. Their main goal is to search for past and/or present molecular compounds related to a potential prebiotic chemistry and/or a biological activity on the Red Planet. A key step to interpret their data is to characterize the preservation or the evolution of organic matter in the martian environmental conditions. Several laboratory experiments have been developed especially concerning the influence of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. However, the experimental UV sources do not perfectly reproduce the solar UV radiation reaching the surface of Mars. For this reason, the International Space Station (ISS) can be advantageously used to expose the same samples studied in the laboratory to UV radiation representative of martian conditions. Those laboratory simulations can be completed by experiments in low Earth orbit (LEO) outside the ISS. Our study was part of the Photochemistry on the Space Station experiment on board the EXPOSE-R2 facility that was kept outside the ISS from October 2014 to February 2016. Chrysene, adenine, and glycine, pure or deposited on an iron-rich amorphous mineral phase, were exposed to solar UV. The total duration of exposure to UV radiation is estimated to be in the 1250–1420 h range. Each sample was characterized prior to and after the flight by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. These measurements showed that all exposed samples were partially degraded. Their quantum efficiencies of photodecomposition were calculated in the 200–250 nm wavelength range. They range from 10<sup>−4</sup> to 10<sup>−6</sup> molecules·photon<sup>−1</sup> for pure organic samples and from 10<sup>−2</sup> to 10<sup>−5</sup> molecules·photon<sup>−1</sup> for organic samples shielded by the mineral phase. These results highlight that none of the tested organics are stable under LEO solar UV radiation conditions. The presence of an iron-rich mineral phase increases their degradation.
Date: 20 Jun 2012 - 22:19
Desc: The search for organic molecules at the surface of Mars is a top priority of the next Mars exploration space missions: Mars Science Laboratory (NASA) and ExoMars (ESA). The detection of organic matter could provide information about the presence of a prebiotic chemistry or even biological activity on this planet. Therefore, a key step in interpretation of future data collected by these missions is to understand the preservation of organic matter in the martian environment. Several laboratory experiments have been devoted to quantifying and qualifying the evolution of organic molecules under simulated environmental conditions of Mars. However, these laboratory simulations are limited, and one major constraint is the reproduction of the UV spectrum that reaches the surface of Mars. As part of the PROCESS experiment of the European EXPOSE-E mission on board the International Space Station, a study was performed on the photodegradation of organics under filtered extraterrestrial solar electromagnetic radiation that mimics Mars-like surface UV radiation conditions. Glycine, serine, phthalic acid, phthalic acid in the presence of a mineral phase, and mellitic acid were exposed to these conditions for 1.5 years, and their evolution was determined by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy after their retrieval. The results were compared with data from laboratory experiments. A 1.5-year exposure to Mars-like surface UV radiation conditions in space resulted in complete degradation of the organic compounds. Half-lives between 50 and 150 h for martian surface conditions were calculated from both laboratory and low-Earth orbit experiments. The results highlight that none of those organics are stable under low-Earth orbit solar UV radiation conditions.
Direction du LISA
Maison des Sciences de l’Environnement 4ème étage
UPEC Campus Centre
61, avenue du Général de Gaulle
94010 CRETEIL CEDEX
contact@lisa.u-pec.fr / 01.45.17.15.60