Organic matter is critical for habitability of an extraterrestrial environment and the development of life. It is believed that life on Earth arose from a chemical complexification of simple organic molecules, yet many questions remain about the nature and origin of these building blocks for life. Understanding the chemical processes that occur in the varied environments of the solar system (e.g. Ocean Worlds, Mars, comets, meteorites), and investigating the nature, abundance and distribution of those molecules, give insights on the processes that occurred on primitive Earth. It also provides valuable information on the habitability and potential for life throughout the solar system.

We invite contributions that include (1) remote or in situ observations of organic matter on planetary bodies, (2) field work, experimental and modeling studies that could predict organics distribution in planetary environments, and (3) promising locations, instrument concepts and strategies for investigating organic astrochemistry.

https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm17/preliminaryview.cgi/Session26955

Abstract deadline: August 2, 2017

Caroline Freissinet, Cyril Szopa, Richard C. Quinn, Melissa Trainer