[meteorite-list] Atacama Rover Helps NASA Learn to Search For Life on Mars

[Ron Baalke]

Donald Savage
Headquarters, Washington                 Sept. 24, 2004
(Phone: 202/358-1727)

Michael Mewhinney	
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
(Phone: 650/604-3937/9000)

Lauren Ward
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh
(Phone: 412/268-7761)

RELEASE: 04-311

ATACAMA ROVER HELPS NASA LEARN TO SEARCH FOR LIFE ON MARS

     A dedicated team of scientists is spending the next four 
weeks in northern Chile's Atacama Desert. They are studying 
the scarce life that exists there and, in the process, 
helping NASA learn more about how primitive life forms could 
exist on Mars.

The NASA funded researchers are studying the Atacama Desert, 
described as the most arid region on Earth, to understand the 
desert as a habitat that represents one of the limits of life 
on Earth. The project, part of NASA's Astrobiology Science 
and Technology Program for Exploring Planets, involves 
technology experiments to test robotic capabilities for 
mobility, autonomy and science.

"Identifying living microorganisms and/or fossils in 
environments where life's density is among the lowest on the 
planet should provide leads to establish detection criteria 
and strategies for Mars or other planetary bodies," explained 
Dr. Nathalie Cabrol of NASA's Ames Research Center (ARC), 
Moffett Field, Calif. She is the project science lead and co-
investigator on the "Life in the Atacama" project.

Scientists from ARC, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, 
the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn., and the 
Universidad Catolica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile, are 
participating in the study. Scientists are scheduled to 
conduct their investigation and field experiments in the 
Atacama through Oct. 21.

They are using Zoe, an autonomous, solar-powered rover 
developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon's Robotics 
Institute. During the mission, Zoe is expected to travel 
about two kilometers (1.24 miles) daily and provide panoramic 
and close-up images.

Zoe will employ a variety of other scientific instruments to 
explore the remote desert. The instruments include a visible-
to-near-infrared spectrometer and a fluorescence microscopic 
imager developed by Carnegie Mellon's Molecular Biosensor and 
Imaging Center.

"Our goal is to make genuine discoveries about life and 
habitats in the Atacama and to create technologies and 
methods that can be applied to future NASA missions," said 
David Wettergreen, an associate research professor at 
Carnegie Mellon's Robotics Institute. He is leading robotics 
research for the Life in the Atacama project.

The first phase of the project began in 2003, when a solar-
powered robot named Hyperion, also developed at Carnegie 
Mellon, was taken to the Atacama. Scientists conducted 
experiments with Hyperion to determine the optimum design, 
software and instrumentation for a robot for extensive 
investigations during 2004-05 of desert life. Zoe and its 
instrument payload are the result of the first year's 
research.

"The project is going a step further by trying to understand 
if signatures of microbial life can be unambiguously detected 
remotely using a robotic platform," Cabrol said. "These 
robots and science payloads will be a wonderful precursor to 
human exploration and excellent 'astronaut/astrobiology 
assistants' when the time comes for human missions," she 
added.

Scientists also plan to map the habitats of the area, 
including its morphology, geology, mineralogy, texture, 
physical and elemental properties of rocks and soils; 
document how life modifies its environment; characterize the 
geo- and biosignatures of microbial organisms and draft 
science protocols to support a discovery of life. ARC 
scientist Chris McKay is conducting a long-term ecological 
study of the Atacama as a Mars analog environment.

Scientists using EventScope, a remote experience browser 
developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon's Studio for 
Creative Inquiry, will guide Zoe. EventScope enables 
scientists to experience the Atacama environment through the 
eyes and various sensors of the rover. The public can access 
the same kind of data experienced by scientists by 
downloading the EventScope interface from the Internet at:

http://www.eventscope.org/atacama

For information, images and field reports from the Atacama on 
the Internet, visit: 

http://www.frc.ri.cmu.edu/atacama

-end-