Laboratory of Extraterrestrial Ocean Systems (LEOS)

From Deep Sea through Deep Time to Deep Space

About us:

Extraterrestrial oceans refer to bodies of liquid water located beyond Earth, often found beneath the icy surfaces of moons like Europa, Enceladus, and Titan. These oceans are significant in the context of scientific research and exploration, particularly as they align with China's strategic goals in deep-sea and deep-space exploration. This interdisciplinary field merges scientific inquiry with engineering advancements, focusing on the potential for life beyond Earth. In December 2017, the Extraterrestrial Ocean Systems Research Laboratory was established to study these oceans and their host moons. The laboratory's research, led by the LEOS group, addresses critical questions regarding the origin and limits of life in the universe. 

Key Focus Include:

1. Circulation of substance and energy: Investigating how these processes shape habitable environments in extraterrestrial oceans.

2. Potential Life Forms and biosignatures: Exploring the types of life that could exist in these oceans and identifying biosignatures that may indicate their presence.

3. Exploration Strategies: Developing technologies and methodologies to effectively explore extraterrestrial oceans and icy moons.

This research is crucial for understanding not only the potential for life beyond Earth, but also the broader implications for planetary habitability, prebiotic and abiotic carbon cycling, and the evolution of life in diverse environments.

Research Objectives:

The Extraterrestrial Ocean Systems Research Laboratory employs a multifaceted approach to enhance our understanding of extraterrestrial oceans on icy moons. The laboratory focuses on investigating fundamental issues, such as the mechanisms of formation and evolution of solar system water bodies, as well as the dynamic processes of matter and energy exchange between these ocean systems and their external environments. Key strategies utilized by the laboratory include leveraging diverse research methods like laboratory and numerical simulations to replicate extraterrestrial ocean conditions and analyzing specimens and data from Earth's extreme deep-sea environments as analogs. The laboratory also aims to establish an integrated "Extraterrestrial Ocean Extreme Environment Simulation System" for comprehensive studies of these enigmatic water bodies.

Furthermore, our research involves studying the interactions between seawater and the rock sphere in Earth's deep-sea and polar regions, as well as examining how cold-loving organisms adapt to such extreme conditions. This comparative analysis provides valuable insights into the potential habitability of extraterrestrial oceans. In addition, the laboratory conducts preliminary work on deploying and testing extraterrestrial ocean exploration equipment, laying the groundwork for future advancements in technologies necessary for exploring these distant worlds. By integrating these strategies, LEOS seeks to advance knowledge about the formation, evolution, and potential habitability of extraterrestrial oceans beyond Earth.

Research Interests:

Preservation and detection of biosignatures from deep-sea, deep-space and deep-time; Formation and evolution of extraterrestrial oceans; Potential physical, chemical, and biological processes in extraterrestrial oceans; Prebiotic and abiotic carbon cycling compared with biosignatures; In-situ and real-time analyses in deep-sea and deep-space environments; Exploration for extraterrestrial life and habitable environments for humans. 

Road Map:

Scientific Instruments:

Research Team：

Prof. Qu Yuangao

Senior Resarch Scientist  in Geobiology and geochemistry 

Research Background and Experience:

Dr. Qu Yuangao graduated his Bachelor's degree in geology from China University of Geosciences, along with a double Bachelor's degree in bioscience from Wuhan University. He obtained a Master’s degree in marine geosciences at the University of Bremen, Germany, and completed his Doctoral degree at the University of Bergen, Norway. Following his Ph.D., he conducted postdoctoral research at the Center for Geobiology in Norway and the Swedish Museum of Natural History.

In 2017, Dr. Qu joined the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He specializes in micro- and in-situ spectral and mass spectroscopic analysis techniques. His research primarily focuses on early Earth and the potential traces of extraterrestrial life, contributing to the development of extraterrestrial ocean science.  

Research Interests:

(1) Co-evolution of life and the environment on the early Earth.

(2) Application of micro-area,in-situ,real-time analysis and monitoring techniques in Earth biology research

(3) Potential physical,chemical,and biological processes in deep-sea,deep-space,deep-Earth,deep-time,and extreme environments

Contact Information:

Tel: +86 0898-88201192

Email: quyg@idsse.ac.cn

Prof. Maggie C.Y. Lau Vetter

Senior Resarch Scientist in microbiology

Educational Background and Research Experience:

Dr. Maggie C.Y. Lau Vetter earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Earth life sciences in 2002 and her Doctor of Science degree in microbial ecology in 2007, both from the University of Hong Kong. From July 2007 to March 2011, she conducted postdoctoral research and served as a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Hong Kong. She then continued her postdoctoral research and served as an Associate Research Scholar at Princeton University from April 2011 to July 2018. She joined the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences in September 2018.

Research Interests:

She has extensive experience studying microbial communities in extreme environments such as hot springs, arid regions, the deep biosphere, and the Arctic and Antarctic. Her research interests strongly focus on the role of microbial communities in biogeochemical cycles, as well as interactions between communities and between communities and the environment. 

Her main research areas in Earth biology include: (1) Utilizing high-throughput sequencing data and bioinformatics to explore the diversity of uncultured microorganisms in the deep subsurface, as well as their metabolic potential and performance; (2) Developing fluorescence labeling techniques to target specific metabolic pathways; (3) Using the deep Earth biosphere as a model to simulate extraterrestrial marine biospheres, thereby enhancing our understanding of extraterrestrial life. So far, she has published over 50 SCI-indexed papers in prominent journals such as Nature Communications, The ISME Journal, and PNAS.

Contact Information

Tel: +86 0898-88202809

Email: maglau@idsse.ac.cn

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-2812-9749 (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2812-9749)

Prof. Dominic Papineau
Senior Research Scientist in biogeochemistry and exobiology 

Educational Background:

Prof. Dominic Papineau graduated inn 2001 with a B.Sc. degree in physics (major) and biochemistry (minor) from McGill University, in Montréal, Québec, Canada. He then obtained his Ph.D. degree in 2006 in geosciences from the University of Colorado at Boulder, in the United States of America, along with a graduate certificate in astrobiology. Between 2006 and 2010, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington (now called the “Earth and Planets Laboratory” at the Carnegie Institution for Science), in Washington D.C., in the United States of America.

Research Experience:

After a brief time as an Assistant Professor at Boston College between 2010 and 2012, Prof. Papineau was a Professor at the University College London between 2013 and 2024, where he built a laboratory of geological spectroscopy. He now holds a honorary professor position in the Department of Earth Sciences at UCL. In 2024, Prof. Papineau joined the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. His research interests are aimed at understanding the origin and evolution of life on Earth, and to pave the way to search for extraterrestrial life on other planetary bodies. His research approach revolves around ‘correlative microscopy’, which involves visually correlated micro-analytical techniques to characterize geochemical compositions of minerals, rocks, and fossils. These techniques include polarizing microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy, infrared micro-spectroscopy (FTIR and PiFM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Focused Ion Beam (FIB), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), Nanoscale Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (NanoSIMS), synchrotron-based Scanning Transmission X-ray Micro-spectroscopy (STXM), and Atom Probe Tomography (APT). The integration of this arsenal of techniques to analyze microscopic mineral assemblages associated with organic matter in Precambrian, deep-sea, and extraterrestrial rocks provides complementary analyses of elemental, isotopic, and molecular compositions. Prof. Papineau has published more than 80 peer-reviewed papers, including in Nature, Nature Geoscience, Nature Communications, Science Advances, Geology, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Precambrian Research, Geobiology, and Chemical Geology. Between 2012 and 2013, he was a NASA Early Career Fellow and was affiliated with the NASA Astrobiology Institute between 1999 and 2012. As of 2024, he has trained numerous research students, including 3 postdocs, 11 Ph.D., 31 M.Sc., and 12 B.Sc.

Research Interests:

(1) Microbial biosignatures in deep-sea hydrothermal vent environments

(2) Biosignatures of Precambrian microbial life in chemically precipitated rocks, including in metamorphosed rocks 

(3) Organic diagenesis and the preservation of biosignatures in ferruginous and manganiferous chemical sediments

(4) The biological-abiotic origin of stromatolites 

(5) Prebiotic-type geochemical reactions and abiotic carbon cycling

His goal is to answer some of the most challenging questions about the origin and early evolution of life, as well as to pave the way for the analysis of geological specimens from the Moon, Mars, and icy moons. He welcomes inquiries about projects (M.Sc., Ph.D., postdoctoral, and visiting scholar).

Contact Information:

Email: dpapineau@idsse.ac.cn

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-0063-7514 (https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0063-7514)

Dr. Gao Jing

Associate Researcher

Educational Background and Research Experience:

Dr. Gao Jing graduated her Bachelor's degree from China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) in 2012. She then obtained her Doctoral degree at Peking University, during which she participated in an academic exchange at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. In 2018, she began her postdoctoral work at the Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. She joined the Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in 2023.

Research Interests:

Her research focuses on the recycling and energy flow of elements such as carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur, and phosphorus in extreme conditions, including the deep-sea, deep-space, deep-Earth, and other celestial bodies. She has a particular interest in the Earth's carbon cycle and the co-evolution of life and environment, and marine biomineralization mechanisms and processes. She has published nearly forty papers in prestigious journals including Science Advances, Geophysical Research Letters, and Science China-Earth Sciences.

Contact Information: 

Email: gaoj@idsse.ac.cn

Dr. Ramganesh Selvarajan

Special Research Assistant

Educational Background and Research Experience:

Dr. Ramganesh Selvarajan graduated from Bharathidasan University, India, with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology in 2007, followed by a Doctor of Science in Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology from the University of Madras, India, in 2014. From March 2015 to December 2020, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the University of South Africa. Between January 2021 and August 2022, he served as an assistant professor and researcher at JJ College, affiliated with Bharathidasan University in India. He possesses extensive experience in studying microbial communities in various extreme environments, such as hot springs, acid mine drainage, and highland habitats, with a particular focus on the roles of microbial communities and their interactions with each other and their environments. In September 2022, Ramganesh joined the Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering (IDSSE) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Research Interests:

His main research areas at IDSSE include: (1) using high-throughput sequencing data and bioinformatics to investigate the diversity and metabolic potential of uncultured deep-sea microorganisms; (2) understanding the metabolism of D- and L-amino acids in microbial communities under various pressure conditions; and (3) employing a gravity controller to simulate extraterrestrial biospheres, advancing the exploration of extraterrestrial life. To date, he has published over 50 papers in SCI-indexed journals.

Contact Information:

Email: drram@idsse.ac.cn;ramganesh.presidency@gmail.com 

Wang Yue

Research Technician

Master's degree, joined in September 2018.

Wang Yue is responsible for the operation, maintenance,and management of laboratory platforms. She also assists in the management of research projects and actively participates in scientific research activities.

Email: wangyue@idsse.ac.cn

Wang Huiqi

Research assistant

Master's degree,joined in August 2019.

Wang Huiqi is responsible for assisting in the construction of laboratory platforms, as well as the procurement, management, and maintenance of laboratory resources. She also assists in the development of research projects and participates in scientific experimental research within the research group.

Email: wanghq@idsse.ac.cn 

Students:

Zhou Qianxue (Ph.D student)

She is focused on exploring the application conditions of fluorescent in situ hybridization of transcript-annealing molecular beacons (FISH-TAMB) technology.

Email: zhouqx@idsse.ac.cn

Li Guili (Ph.D student)

She is mainly focused on the relationship between protein function,structure,and evolution related to sulfur redox among microorganisms.

Email:ligl@idsse.ac.cn

Habib Ullah (Ph.D student)

He is mainly focusing on the genomes and ecological implications of microorganisms that produce biosurfactants in extreme environments. His work aims to explore the interactions and adaptability of these microorganisms within their unique habitats.

Email: habib@idsse.ac.cn

Graduated students from LEOS group:

Zhang Yuhan,Master degree,graduated in 2021

Huang Baowei,Doctoral degree,graduated in 2023

Long Haijun,Master degree,graduated in 2023

Zhang Wenyu,Master degree,graduated in 2023

Wang Quansheng,Doctoral degree,graduated in 2024

Popular Science Exhibition on Extraterrestrial Oceans: 

Popular Science Article -"Exploring the Deep Sea: From Earth to Outer Space"(by Qu Yuangao)

Popular Science Event -"Life · Earth's Oceans · Extraterrestrial Oceans"(organized by Maggie C.Y. Lau Vetter)