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The Present Habitability Potential of Gale Crater: What We Have Learned So Far From Mars Science LaboratoryThe Mars Science Laboratory mission has comprehensively interrogated the surface environment of Mars as it explores Gale Crater. Both chemical and physical attributes of the present environment have been measured over the course of the mission, enabling us to compare the present state of the martian surface with the environmental requirements of prokaryotic microbes. While this approach does not exclude the possibility of martian life that may have evolved to adapt to the present conditions, it is advantageous in that it allows us to evaluate environmental requirements of known life and also provide insight into the likelihood of forward contamination by Earth organisms with the comparison of their environmental requirements with the measured attributes of the environment at Gale Crater. We have already modeled a paleoenvironment with high habitability potential (HP) based upon chemistry, mineralogy and other geological evidence such as sedimentary structures and larger scale geomorphology [1]. In this report, we turn our attention to the present HP of the Yellowknife Bay area, including the importance of the physical environmental metrics such as atmospheric pressure, air and ground temperature, ionizing radiation, wind speed and direction, slope, etc.
Document ID
20140009560
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Conrad, P. G.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Archer, P. D.
(Jacobs Technologies Engineering Science Contract Group Houston, TX, United States)
Domagal-Goldman, S.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Eigenbrode, J.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Fisk, M.
(Oregon State Univ. Corvallis, OR, United States)
Gupta, S.
(Imperial Coll. of London London, United Kingdom)
Hamilton, V.
(Southwest Research Inst. Boulder, CO, United States)
Kah, L.
(Tennessee Univ. Knoxville, TN, United States)
Kahanpaa, Henrik
(Finnish Meteorological Inst. Helsinki, Finland)
Martin-Torres, J.
(Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial Madrid, Spain)
Martinez-Frias, J.
(Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial Madrid, Spain)
McKay, C. P.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Ming, D.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Minitti, M. E.
(Planetary Science Inst. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Navarro-Gonzalez, R.
(Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico Coyoacan, Mexico)
Owen, T.
(Hawaii Univ. Honolulu, HI, United States)
Pavlov, A.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Steele, A.
(Carnegie Institution of Washington Washington, DC, United States)
Stern, J.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Trieman, A.
(Lunar and Planetary Inst. Houston, TX, United States)
Zorzano, M-P
(Southwest Research Inst. Boulder, CO, United States)
Mahaffy, P. R.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
July 18, 2014
Publication Date
July 14, 2014
Subject Category
Exobiology
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Report/Patent Number
JSC-CN-31333
Meeting Information
Meeting: International Conference on Mars
Location: Pasadena, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: July 14, 2014
End Date: July 18, 2014
Sponsors: NASA Headquarters, California Inst. of Tech., Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech., Lunar and Planetary Inst.
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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