NAI
2005 Annual Science Report
Indiana University, Bloomington
Reporting | JUL 2004 – JUN 2005
Executive Summary
Future exploration for life on Mars and icy bodies in the outer region of our solar system necessitates rapid development of innovative instruments and techniques for life-detection that can be field tested in analogue environments on Earth. With this goal in mind, IPTAI scientists are leading a highly collaborative effort to core, sample and characterize the microbial ecosystems present within regions of persistent permafrost in northern Canada. We intend to core a sequence of bore holes using aseptic procedures and starting from lichen-encrusted rocks at the ground surface (Figure 1), extending through hundreds of meters of rocky permafrost, and penetrating into deep sub-permafrost brines contained in fractured bedrock. We seek direct evidence of microbial biomass and activity, as well as indirect evidence of microbial metabolism in the form of distinctive chemical and isotopic anomalies in gases, aqueous species and minerals. Instrumental and assay techniques that ... Continue reading.
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Lisa Pratt
NAI, ASTEP, ASTID, Exobiology -
TEAM Active Dates:
11/2003 - 10/2008 CAN 3 -
Members:
17 (See All) - Visit Team Page
Project Reports
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Microbial and Biogeochemical Characterization of a Terrestrial Analogue Site for Mars.
Vertical and horizontal excavations at the Lupin gold mine in northern Canada allow access to a 500-meter thick permafrost/rock environment overlying a methane-bearing brine/rock environment.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 2.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 6.2 7.1 -
Laser Fluorometry for Remote Detection of Oxygenic Phototrophs on Earth And, Potentially, on Mars
The innovation of oxygenic photosynthesis is argued to have transformed the Earth’s atmosphere and been the driving force that led to the evolution of O2-based respiratory metabolisms.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.3 4.2 5.1 5.3 -
Synergism, Evolution, and Functional Ecogenomics of Deep-Subsurface Microbial Communities Based on Molecular Analyses
Samples for genome analysis were collected at a depth of about 8,000 ft below the surface from a South African gold mine in the Witwatersrand Basin.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 -
Origins and Signatures of Biogenic and Abiogenic Hydrocarbons.
Completed experimental results showed δ2H of H2 can only be used as an indicator of in-situ water radiolysis for groundwater with relatively young ages and low temperatures.
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 4.1 4.2 7.1 7.2 -
Radiolysis as a Source of Chemical Energy for Microbial Metabolism in the Deep Subsurface
Radiolysis of water can accelerate water/rock interaction through production of radicals (e.g., hydrogen, hydroperoxyl, hydroxyl), ions (e.g., superoxide, protons, hydroxide), and reactive molecules (e.g., hydrogen, hydrogen peroxide, oxygen)
ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 3.3 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1 7.2
Publications
- There are no publications for this team in the 2005 annual report.
2005 Teams
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Carnegie Institution of Washington
Indiana University, Bloomington
Marine Biological Laboratory
Michigan State University
NASA Ames Research Center
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Pennsylvania State University
SETI Institute
University of Arizona
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Los Angeles
University of Colorado, Boulder
University of Hawaii, Manoa
University of Rhode Island
University of Washington
Virtual Planetary Laboratory (JPL/CalTech)