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Project Reports

• Earthbound Microbial and Geological Robotic Based Observations for Mars

  After experimenting with robot modules (developed in the previous reporting period), the University of Pennsylvania team has developed new modules better suited to the terrain microbiologists and geologists traversed at the Box Canyon Idaho 2004 field trip. Primarily this involves adding rotational leg modules which allow the traversal of larger obstacles while still allowing access to cluttered environments such as between rocks or weeds

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 2.2 5.1 5.3

• Adaptation to Salinity in Microbial Communities

  Lake Tyrrell, Australia, has been identified as a site with considerable potential as a Mars analog (Benison and Laclair, Astrobiology, 2003). This periodically dry, pink, hypersaline lake (Figure 1) is located in northwestern Victoria, Australia

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 2.1 4.1 5.1 5.2 5.3 6.1

• Climate, Habitability, and the Atmosphere on Early Mars

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 1.2 2.1 4.1 7.1

• Early Oceans on Mars

  The idea that standing bodies of water might once have existed on Mars’ surface is supported by several lines of evidence, including geologic and topographic features near the margins of the northern lowlands that have been interpreted as shorelines formed by ancient oceans

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 4.1 7.1 7.2

• Evolution of the Interior and Its Consequences for Water on Mars

  This large-scale volcanism early in martian history is estimated to have released enough water to produce a 120-m-thick global layer and enough CO₂ to produce a 1.5 bar atmosphere (Phillips et al., 2001). The release of volatiles would have had a major effect on climate and habitability. (Objective 1.1 in the Roadmap)

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1

• Isotopic Fingerprints of Past Life and Surface Conditions on Mars

  We have advanced the research on five fronts. (1) Our work in collaboration with the Dietrich group reached fruition as high-quality He-3 exposure ages were determined for the Box Canyon basalts of south central Idaho.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 7.1

• Iron and Sulfur-Based Biospheres and Their Biosignatures

  A core focus for the research within the BioMars project has centered on the topic of microbial communities sustained by iron and sulfur cycling, as these elements are abundant at the Mars surface and exist in multiple redox states, as would be required if they play a metabolic role. Our team has investigated a number of potential Earth analog systems, with a view to understanding their geochemistry, microbiology, and potential biosignatures.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 4.1 7.1 7.2

• Interaction Between the Atmosphere and Water on Mars

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1

• The History of Evolution of Surface Water on Mars

  Our original premise was that the channels on Mars identified as formed by seepage would be excellent sites to explore for signs of life because of the combined effects of sustained water (to cause erosion) and the subsurface nature of the flow (away from harmful UV radiation).

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1

• Relationship Between Hydrogeology and Microbiology at Active Springs

  We are currently investigating a sulfur spring system in a zone of high deformation in the central coast range of California. This system presents opportunities to study multiple, sustained groundwater discharge sites with environmental gradients affecting extant microbial communities.

  ROADMAP OBJECTIVES: 1.1 2.1 4.2 5.2 7.1