Taking a Bite of Antarctic Ice

University Valley, Antarctica.
Members of NASA’s IceBite team will spend the next six weeks studying the only place on Earth where the terrain resembles that of the Phoenix landing site on Mars. The place: a mile above sea level in Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys. The ultimate goal: to test ice-penetrating drills for a future mission to the martian polar north. Astrobio.net will be providing a direct link to scientists involved in the expedition, so now you can ask the scientists questions while they’re in the field.

Source: [astrobio.net]

November 16, 2009 / Written by: Henry Bortman

Diving Through A Microbial Landscape

Scientist Dale Andersen prepares to dive in Lake Untersee in Queen Maud Land in Antarctica. Photo: Dale Andersen
The ice-covered lakes of Antarctica’s McMurdo Dry Valleys have long been of interest to astrobiologists. These remote and extreme environments harbor unique microbial ecosystems that could provide clues about how life might survive on other worlds – such as Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. Recently, a team of scientists funded by the NASA Exobiology Program began exploring the unique habitat of the ice-crusted Lake Joyce.

Lake Joyce is of special interest, because it’s waters harbor carbonate structures known as microbialites. These unique structures are formed with layers of cyanobacteria. The research team is interested in how these organisms...

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Source: [OnOrbit]

October 29, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal

Probing Antarctica’s Lake Bonney

In a project designed to help NASA plan for a future mission to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa, researchers have begun testing an autonomous underwater vehicle, known as ENDURANCE, in the ice-covered waters of Antarctica’s Lake Bonney. The biggest problem they’ve run into so far? Bubbles.

Source: [Astrobiology Magazine]

May 21, 2009 / Written by: Henry Bortman

Program Solicitation in Antarctic Research

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is accepting proposals for research supported by the United States Government in Antarctica. The goals of the program include expanding our fundamental knowledge of the region and using Antarctica as a platform from which to support research. Support is available for fieldwork and Antarctic-related analytical work at home organizations. Full proposals are due on June 8, 2009. Futher program information is available at: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09536/nsf09536.htm?govDel=USNSF_25

Antarctica has long been a research site of interest for astrobiologists. The continent supports a range of unique organisms that can survive...

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March 12, 2009 / Posted by: Aaron Gronstal

Microbial Populations in Antarctic Permafrost

Members of NAI’s Michigan State University Alumni Team are part of an international team of scientists characterizing the microbial populations in Antarctic permafrost soils. Based on multiple samples, they describe the presence of diverse populations of both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, cyanobacteria, green algae, yeasts, and fungi. Based on the documented ages of the permafrost regions—perhaps more than 5 million years old—these findings represent the oldest viable microorganisms discovered in permafrost on Earth. Their paper appears in the April issue of Astrobiology.

Source: [Link]

June 6, 2007 / Posted by: Shige Abe

NAI Researchers Search for Meteorites in Antarctica

Follow along as scientists from NAI’s University of Hawai’i Team go on expedition with the NSF/NASA – sponsored Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET) program. View photos, read about the team and their mission, and stay current with regular dispatches from the “Streets of McMurdo.â€� The ANSMET program enables researchers to collect meteorites in Antarctica first hand for scientific study. Over 75% of meteorites are recovered from Antarctica, and more than 15,000 samples have been supplied to over 400 scientists in 32 countries over the last 30 years.

Source: [Link]

December 6, 2006 / Posted by: Shige Abe

Arctic, Antarctic, Mars

The city of Hammerfest lies at the northern tip of Norway, well above the Arctic Circle. If you board a ship heading north from there, just before you reach the polar ice cap you run into a group of islands known as the Svalbard archipelago.

For the past two summers, a group of scientists has traveled to the largest of these islands to study an environment that sheds light on a notorious meteorite, discovered at the opposite end of the Earth, in Antarctica.

The meteorite, ALH84001, began as a rather unremarkable piece of volcanic rock that formed about 4.5 billion...

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