We Can Learn More from Nature’s Biological Designs
Nature’s blueprints span from the unseen nanoworld to the enigmatic origins of life. Despite the incredible diversity of nanostructures, many remain hidden due to current imaging limitations. Likewise, the mysteries of animal communication—crucial for decoding behavioral cues and social structures—await breakthrough insights. Moreover, the primordial conditions of our planet, essential for understanding life’s genesis, are obscured by the absence of rocks from before 4.1 Ga and fossils before 3.5 Ga (although life almost certainly established itself on our planet before that). Addressing these challenges can unlock new understandings in biology, ecology, and more.
Foundational Capabilities (6)
Use advanced machine learning techniques to decode animal vocalizations and behavioral signals, enabling meaningful communication and insights into animal cognition.
Note: Many animals (e.g. insects, cephalopods, amphibians) use non-vocal communication (bioluminescence, gestures, electroreception, olfaction). For olfaction see: https://www.osmo.ai/
Almost all our knowledge of Hadean Earth comes from Hadean zircons, the “black-box recorder” of minerals. Zircons can incorporate small amounts of the ancient ocean . All known Hadean zircons come from a single site, and they are gathered artisanally by individual graduate students. The solution is to search for more Hadean zircons with the steady, systematic approach of (for example) a diamond company, and then screen massive numbers of zircons for ocean and atmosphere data.
No rock survives from the Hadean - but that is because Earth has plate tectonics. Statistically, there must be Hadean rocks waiting on ancient Lunar terrains for us to find (just as there are abundant Lunar meteorites on Earth). A plausible Earth mineral has already been identified in Apollo samples (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0012821X19300202). They will be easy to spot due to their distinct mineralogy (and color). However, raking through the Lunar regolith to find them is tedious work, beyond the patience of astronauts - but not beyond the patience of robots. This is a NASA science goal, but it is undervalued, due to the intense focus on Lunar resources.
Deploy cutting-edge imaging techniques to capture high-resolution details of natural nanostructures, revealing new insights into their form and function.
Design and implement missions specifically aimed at exploring Europa and/or Enceladus for signs of life, leveraging advanced detection and sampling technologies.