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Mars Analog Rio Tinto Experiment (MARTE): 2003 Drilling Campaign to Search for a Subsurface Biosphere at Rio Tinto SpainThe MARTE (Mars Astrobiology Research and Technology Experiment) project, an ASTEP field experiment, is exploring for a hypothesized subsurface anaerobic chemoautotrophic biosphere in the region of the Tinto River- or Rio Tinto- in southwestern Spain. It is also demonstrating technology needed to search for a subsurface biosphere on Mars. The project has three primary objectives: (1) search for and characterize subsurface life at Rio Tinto along with the physical and chemical properties and sustaining energy sources of its environment, (2) perform a high fidelity simulation of a robotic Mars drilling mission to search for life, and (3) demonstrate the drilling, sample handling, and instrument technologies relevant to searching for life on Mars. The simulation of the robotic drilling mission is guided by the results of the aseptic drilling campaign to search for life at Rio Tinto. This paper describes results of the first phase of the aseptic drilling campaign.
Document ID
20040062221
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Stoker, Carol
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Dunagan, Stephen
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Stevens, Todd
(Portland State Univ. OR, United States)
Amils, Ricardo
(Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial Madrid, Spain)
Gomez-Elvira, Javier
(Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial Madrid, Spain)
Fernandez, David
(Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial Madrid, Spain)
Hall, James
(Carnegie Institution of Washington Washington, DC, United States)
Lynch, Kennda
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Cannon, Howard
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Zavaleta, Jhony
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2004
Publication Information
Publication: Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Astrobiology: Analogs and Applications to the Search for Life
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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