Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP)

NASA participates in the Arctic Mars Analogue Svalbard Expedition (AMASE) 2009

Throughout most of the month of August, an international team of scientists participated in the Arctic Mars Analogue Svalbard Expedition (AMASE) in Norway, conducting scientific research and testing instruments for future NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) Mars robotic missions.

The Svalbard archipelago is unique in the diversity of geological formations it contains. Few places in the world include a record of so many geological eras exposed in outcrops that can be studied without moving significant amounts of soil and vegetation. Some of these formations are considered interesting analogues for Mars terrains. AMASE 2009 test...

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October 26, 2009 / Written by: Linda Billings

Oases for Life on the Mid-Caymen Rise

A team of oceanographers and astrobiologists is currently exploring one of the deepest points in the Caribbean Sea. The expedition is funded by NASA’s Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP) program. Follow the team’s blog as they search for life in this extreme seafloor environment.

Blog by PI Chris German: http://oases-expedition.blogspot.com/
Blog by Master of R/V Cape Hatteras: http://www.sailblogs.com/member/chmaster/
An article concerning the expedition recently appeared in The Economist at: http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/PrinterFriendly.cfm?story_id=14585735.

Source: [astrobio.net]

October 21, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal

Building an Astrobiology Tool Kit

How can we be sure that instruments that will be sent on future Martian missions will work properly? How do we know that they will obtain accurate and precise measurements? How will we be able to compare the data to what we have seen on our planet? One of the most important goals of the AMASE 2009 expedition was to test techniques and equipment that will one day be used on missions to Mars.

Source: [astrobio.net]

October 19, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal

ENDURANCE 2009 Expedition on the Way to the Ice

ENDURANCE, the Environmentally Non-Disturbing Under-ice Robotic Antarctic Explorer, is about to start its second round of operations in Antarctica’s Lake Bonney. ENDURANCE researchers began their journey to the Ice in early October.

ENDURANCE is a project of NASA’s Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP) program. ASTEP Principal Investigator Peter Doran of the University of Illinois-Chicago is leading the ENDURANCE project, in collaboration with Stone Aerospace and others.

ENDURANCE is an underwater robotic probe designed to explore the biological and geochemical composition of an ice-bound Antarctic lake. This project...

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October 7, 2009 / Written by: Linda Billings

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Sees Ice Exposed by Meteor Impact

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed frozen water hiding just below the surface of mid-latitude Mars. The spacecraft’s observations were obtained from orbit after meteorites excavated fresh craters on the Red Planet.

Scientists controlling instruments on the orbiter found bright ice exposed at five Martian sites with new craters that range in depth from approximately half a meter to 2.5 meters (1.5 feet to 8 feet). The craters did not exist in earlier images of the same sites. Some of the craters show a thin layer of bright ice atop darker underlying material. The bright patches darkened...

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Source: [NASA Press Release]

September 24, 2009 / Posted by: Daniella Scalice

AMASE 2009 Expedition Finishes

Researchers report from the field during the closing days of the AMASE 2009 Expedition to Norway’s Svalbard island in the arctic. As the mission completed, the team simulated a week in the life of a Mars rover science team in preparation for a future Mars sample return mission.

Part 1: AMASE 2009 Expedition Takes Off
Part 2: Roving the AMASEing Arctic
Part 3: The AMASEing Adventure Continues
Part 4: Amase-ing Life on the Ice
Part 5: Goddess of the Arctic
Part 6: Arctic Preparations for Mars

Source: [astrobio.net]

September 21, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal

Arctic Preparations for Mars

Previous missions to Mars have been searching for signs that Mars once had liquid water, and potentially habitats for life. The next generation of martian rovers will search for signs of past or present life on Mars more directly. Technologies for such missions are now being tested in the remote arctic.

Part 1: AMASE 2009 Expedition Takes Off
Part 2: Roving the AMASEing Arctic
Part 3: The AMASEing Adventure Continues
Part 4: Amase-ing Life on the Ice
Part 5: Goddess of the Arctic

Source: [astrobio.net]

September 14, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal