The NOUR Laboratory will focus on the chemistry of interstellar clouds, vast regions of ice, gas and dust between stars that remain a relatively underexplored frontier in astrochemistry. Qasim is building an astrochemistry program that links early cosmic chemistry to the processes that shape planets.

"We are examining the chemistry of ice, gas and dust that have existed since before our solar system formed, connecting the dots to determine how materials in those clouds ultimately evolve into planets," Qasim said. "By simulating the physio-chemical conditions of these pre-planetary environments, we can fill key data gaps, providing insights that future NASA missions need to accomplish their goals."

In 2022, the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine's decadal survey Origins Worlds and Life outlined priority science questions on the early history of the solar system, planetary evolution and the search for life, and recommended missions to address them. "The decadal survey emphasizes understanding the origins of our solar system," Qasim said. "And in our new lab, there is a focus on laboratory experiments, with the long-term vision of growing into a program that integrates laboratory studies, theory, observations and mission data to understand the origins of planetary systems."

Many current and planned missions depend on better understanding the origins of volatiles and organic compounds in space environments. These include NASA's Moon to Mars Architecture, which lays out a long-term strategy for exploration of the lunar surface and a future crewed mission to Mars, and the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission that will conduct an extensive investigation of Mercury.

The NOUR Laboratory will initially operate two main vacuum chambers to replicate distinct pre-planetary settings. One chamber will be used to study chemistry in dark interstellar clouds where complex organic molecules form, while the second will simulate stellar irradiation of interstellar ices to track how biologically relevant molecules emerge.

The facility will also use a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer (LC-MS) to analyze complex molecular products generated in these experiments. "The irradiation of these ices will produce even more complex molecules - such as components of DNA and RNA. To analyze these very complex species, we will utilize LC-MS. We also plan to investigate sample-returned materials, such as materials from the moon, asteroids, comets and Mars, with the LC-MS," Qasim said. "By understanding the chemical inventory of pre-planetary environments, we will be able to help trace the origins of potential biosignatures and determine whether they could have been inherited from earlier cosmic stages."

SwRI scientists will begin experiments that focus on sulfur and phosphorous, elements important for life, to understand how they become incorporated into the building blocks of planets. Both primary experimental setups are expected to be completed in late 2026, enabling the lab to provide data that support interpretation of spacecraft observations and sample-return analyses across the solar system.

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