ROMA: A Database of Rock Reflectance Spectra for Martian In Situ Exploration.

The ROMA database (ROck reflectance for MArtian in situ exploration, https://roma.univ-lyon1.fr) provides the reflectance spectra between 0.

Calibration and performances of the MicrOmega instrument for the characterization of asteroid Ryugu returned samples.

MicrOmega, a miniaturized near-infrared hyperspectral microscope, has been selected to characterize in the laboratory the samples returned from Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 mission. MicrOmega has been delivered to the Extraterrestrial Samples Curation Center of the Japanese Aerospace eXploration Agency at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science in July 2020 and then mounted and calibrated to be ready for the analyses of the samples returned to Earth on December 6, 2020. MicrOmega was designed to analyze the returned samples within a field of view of 5 × 5 mm and a spatial sampling of 22.

Planetary Terrestrial Analogues Library Project: 3. Characterization of Samples With MicrOmega.

The Planetary Terrestrial Analogues Library (PTAL) project aims at building and exploiting a database involving several analytical techniques, to help characterize the mineralogical evolution of terrestrial bodies, starting with Mars. Around 100 natural Earth rock samples have been collected from selected locations to gather a variety of analogs for martian geology, from volcanic to sedimentary origin with different levels of alteration. All samples are to be characterized within the PTAL project with different mineralogical and elemental analysis techniques, including techniques brought on actual and future instruments at the surface of Mars (near infrared [NIR] spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy).

Mineralogical and Spectral (Near-Infrared) Characterization of Fe-Rich Vermiculite-Bearing Terrestrial Deposits and Constraints for Mineralogy of Oxia Planum, ExoMars 2022 Landing Site.

Oxia Planum is a Noachian plain on Mars. It was chosen as the final landing site for studies by ExoMars 2022 rover. The main scientific objectives of the mission are to understand the mineralogy and aqueous evolution of ancient Mars with relevance to habitability.

Oxia Planum: The Landing Site for the ExoMars "Rosalind Franklin" Rover Mission: Geological Context and Prelanding Interpretation.

The European Space Agency (ESA) and Roscosmos ExoMars mission will launch the "Rosalind Franklin" rover in 2022 for a landing on Mars in 2023.The goals of the mission are to search for signs of past and present life on Mars, investigate the water/geochemical environment as a function of depth in the shallow subsurface, and characterize the surface environment. To meet these scientific objectives while minimizing the risk for landing, a 5-year-long landing site selection process was conducted by ESA, during which eight candidate sites were down selected to one: Oxia Planum.

Mawrth Vallis, Mars: A Fascinating Place for Future Exploration.

After the successful landing of the Mars Science Laboratory rover, both NASA and ESA initiated a selection process for potential landing sites for the Mars2020 and ExoMars missions, respectively. Two ellipses located in the Mawrth Vallis region were proposed and evaluated during a series of meetings (three for Mars2020 mission and five for ExoMars). We describe here the regional context of the two proposed ellipses as well as the framework of the objectives of these two missions.

Deposition of >3.7 Ga clay-rich strata of the Mawrth Vallis Group, Mars, in lacustrine, alluvial, and aeolian environments.

The presence of abundant phyllosilicate minerals in Noachian (>3.7 Ga) rocks on Mars has been taken as evidence that liquid water was stable at or near the surface early in martian history. This study investigates some of these clay-rich strata exposed in crater rim and inverted terrain settings in the Mawrth Vallis region of Mars.

Semi-automated crater depth measurements.

Impact cratering is a major process driving planetary landscape evolution. Statistics of craters spatial density is extensively used to date planetary surfaces. Their degradation state and morphometry are also key parameters to understand surface processes.

Habitability on Early Mars and the Search for Biosignatures with the ExoMars Rover.

The second ExoMars mission will be launched in 2020 to target an ancient location interpreted to have strong potential for past habitability and for preserving physical and chemical biosignatures (as well as abiotic/prebiotic organics). The mission will deliver a lander with instruments for atmospheric and geophysical investigations and a rover tasked with searching for signs of extinct life. The ExoMars rover will be equipped with a drill to collect material from outcrops and at depth down to 2 m.

Biosignatures on Mars: What, Where, and How? Implications for the Search for Martian Life.

Unlabelled: The search for traces of life is one of the principal objectives of Mars exploration. Central to this objective is the concept of habitability, the set of conditions that allows the appearance of life and successful establishment of microorganisms in any one location. While environmental conditions may have been conducive to the appearance of life early in martian history, habitable conditions were always heterogeneous on a spatial scale and in a geological time frame.

Biophysical properties of cationic lipophosphoramidates: Vesicle morphology, bilayer hydration and dynamics.

Cationic lipids are used to deliver genetic material to living cells. Their proper biophysical characterization is needed in order to design and control this process. In the present work we characterize some properties of recently synthetized cationic lipophosphoramidates.

Plastids of marine phytoplankton produce bioactive pigments and lipids.

Phytoplankton is acknowledged to be a very diverse source of bioactive molecules. These compounds play physiological roles that allow cells to deal with changes of the environmental constrains. For example, the diversity of light harvesting pigments allows efficient photosynthesis at different depths in the seawater column.

Habitability on Mars from a microbial point of view.

Extraterrestrial habitability is a complex notion. We briefly review what is known about the origin of life on Earth, that is, life based on carbon chemistry and water. We then discuss habitable conditions (past and present) for established life and for the survival of microorganisms.

Physicochemical properties of cationic lipophosphoramidates with an arsonium head group and various lipid chains: A structure-activity approach.

We studied the physicochemical properties of some cationic lipophosphoramidates used as gene vectors in an attempt to better understand the link between the nature of the hydrophobic chain and both physico-chemical properties and transfection efficiency. These compounds have an arsonium head group and various chain lengths and unsaturation numbers. The synthesis of cationic phospholipids with oleic (Guenin et al.

Cationic lipo-thiophosphoramidates for gene delivery: synthesis, physico-chemical characterization and gene transfection activity--comparison with lipo-phosphoramidates.

The synthesis of cationic lipo-thiophosphoramidates, a new family of cationic lipids designed for gene delivery, is reported herein. This new class of lipids is less polar than its oxygenated equivalent the lipo-phosphoramidates. Fluorescence anisotropy and FRET were used to determine the fluidity and fusogenicity of the lipo-phosphoramidates 3a-b and lipo-thiophosphoramidates 7a-b.

The Mawrth Vallis region of Mars: A potential landing site for the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission.

The primary objective of NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, which will launch in 2011, is to characterize the habitability of a site on Mars through detailed analyses of the composition and geological context of surface materials. Within the framework of established mission goals, we have evaluated the value of a possible landing site in the Mawrth Vallis region of Mars that is targeted directly on some of the most geologically and astrobiologically enticing materials in the Solar System. The area around Mawrth Vallis contains a vast (>1 × 10⁶ km²) deposit of phyllosilicate-rich, ancient, layered rocks.

A novel cationic lipophosphoramide with diunsaturated lipid chains: synthesis, physicochemical properties, and transfection activities.

Cationic lipophosphoramidates constitute a class of cationic lipids we have previously reported to be efficient for gene transfection. Here, we synthesized and studied a novel lipophosphoramidate derivative characterized by an arsonium headgroup linked, via a phosphoramidate linker, to an unconventional lipidic moiety consisting of two diunsaturated linoleic chains. Physicochemical studies allowed us to comparatively evaluate the specific fluidity and fusogenicity properties of the liposomes formed.

Fluorescence study of lipid-based DNA carriers properties: influence of cationic lipid chemical structure.

We report here a study on the physicochemical properties of cationic phospholipids liposomes used for lipoplex formulation and DNA transfer. The original cationic phospholipids synthesized in our laboratory are first presented with the liposome formulation process. The second part deals with the liposomes fusogenic properties studied by fluorescence resonant energy transfer (FRET).