Members of NASA’s IceBite team will be in Antarctica’s Dry Valleys this month testing a drill developed by Honeybee Robotics for possible use on a future mission to the arctic northern plains of Mars. The IceBreaker drill is designed to obtain samples for scientific analysis of ice and soil from as much as a meter (3 feet) below the surface. Astrobiology Magazine will be providing the public with the opportunity to ask questions of the IceBite team while they are in the field. Simply visit www.astrobio.net and click the “Ask a Scientist” button in the stories and blogs covering the 2010 IceBite expedition.

The first entry of the 2010 IceBite Blog from team member Margarita Marinova is now available: IceBite Blog: Flying to Antarctica