> RELEASE: 03-24AR
>
> NASA SCIENTISTS TO DRILL FOR NEW, EXOTIC LIFE NEAR
> ACIDIC SPANISH RIVER
>
> NASA scientists will visit Spain April 10 through 12
> to search for
> drilling sites where later this fall they plan to
> look for exotic
> life forms that may live underground near the Rio
> Tinto, a river in
> southwestern Spain.
>
> During the Mars Analog Research and Technology
> Experiment (MARTE),
> scientists and engineers from NASA, U.S.
> universities and the Spanish
> Centro De Astrobiología (Center for Astrobiology)
> hope to show how
> robot systems could look for life below Mars'
> surface. Bacteria may
> dwell beneath the surface, eating minerals derived
> from subsurface
> rocks that contain iron and sulfur. Similar bacteria
> are in the very
> acidic Rio Tinto, and these microbes may play a role
> in producing
> acid in the river. Located in a region that legend
> claims was part of
> King Solomon's mines, the Rio Tinto looks like deep,
> red wine,
> because iron is dissolved in the highly acidic river
> water.
>
> "The Rio Tinto area is an important analog to
> searching for life in
> liquid water, deep beneath the subsurface of Mars,"
> said Carol
> Stoker, principal investigator of the three-year
> project and a
> scientist at NASA Ames Research Center in
> California's Silicon
> Valley. "Beginning next fall, we plan to start
> drilling to explore
> for life in subsurface waters that are the source of
> the Rio Tinto,"
> she said.
>
> The team plans to explore the area using a drill and
> science
> instruments designed for use in a Mars mission.
> Scientists at NASA
> facilities in the United States and at the Centro de
> Astrobiología in
> Madrid will remotely operate a robotic drill and
> life-detection
> instruments, and will interpret the results, all via
> satellite, to
> simulate the operation of a mission to search for
> life on Mars. At
> the same time, scientists at the drill site will
> conduct traditional
> core sample drilling and analysis to understand
> subsurface life forms
> at the site and to check the accuracy of the
> remote-control efforts
> to identify life forms, organic compounds and
> minerals.
>
> "From a planetary exploration, technological point
> of view the
> project could have a large impact, since a drilling
> system and many
> instruments and equipment developed specifically
> from the project are
> going to be tested outside a laboratory, (in)
> uncontrolled
> environmental conditions like high temperature,
> humidity, transport
> vibration, etc.," said Javier Gómez-Elvira, lead
> engineer for
> robotics for the Centro de Astrobiología. Because
> the science team
> will remotely operate all equipment and instruments
> including, the
> drill, many 'lessons learned' could result that
> could be used for a
> real Mars mission, Gómez-Elvira explained.
>
> The subsurface is the key environment for searching
> for life on other
> planets, according to MARTE scientists. "Life needs
> liquid water and
> a source of energy," Stoker said. "On Earth, most
> common life forms
> are at the surface where sunlight provides the
> energy, but liquid
> water occurs rarely at the Martian surface, if at
> all. Liquid water
> is expected in the subsurface of Mars. So, NASA
> plans to use robotic
> drilling to search for subsurface life. That is why
> we are testing
> the life search strategy in the Rio Tinto, where
> subsurface water and
> chemical energy are expected to support life."
> Stoker added.
>
> Scientists say evidence suggests the chemistry of
> the Rio Tinto and
> its biology may be the result of an underground
> biologically based
> chemical reactor fueled by organisms that do not
> need oxygen gas to
> survive. MARTE scientists propose that such a system
> may exist in the
> subsurface of the Rio Tinto area, according to
> Ricardo Amils
> Pibernat, a biologist at the Centro de Astrobiología
> and a specialist
> on the biology of the Rio Tinto. If found, this type
> of life would
> represent an entirely new subsurface life system, he
> said.
>
> One of the largest deposits of sulfide minerals in
> the world is in
> the Rio Tinto region. Similar mineral deposits may
> well be found on
> Mars, according to the scientists. "There is a
> critical and
> immediate need for technology maturation for
> drilling that can be
> done during a field experiment on Earth to simulate
> a Mars mission,"
> Stoker said. "It is crucial to prepare for Mars
> exploration by
> understanding the relevant terrestrial environments
> where life
> persists," she added.
>
> Searching for life in the subsurface of another
> planet will not only
> require drilling, but sample extraction and
> handling, as well as new
> technologies to identify biomarker compounds and
> search for living
> organisms, according to Stoker and her colleagues.
> "A biomarker
> compound is like a signature left by life," she
> explained.
>
> During the Rio Tinto campaign, the drill and the
> robotic system will
> bring cores of underground rock to the surface.
> There, a suite of
> remotely operated science instruments that simulate
> a Mars mission
> payload will analyze samples and search for signs of
> life or
> biomarkers. The Signs of Life Detector (SOLID)
> instrument, developed
> at the Centro de Astrobiología, will search for life
> in the samples
> using new technology derived from molecular biology.
> This instrument
> can detect not just whole organisms, but
> macromolecules or other life
> byproducts, said Gómez-Elvira.
>
> "In addition to looking for evidence of subsurface
> life, we hope
> MARTE inspires students to pursue careers in science
> and
> engineering," Stoker said. "Because of the location
> in Spain, we're
> hoping this experiment will be of particular
> interest to Hispanic
> students."
>
> The NASA team also will meet with Spanish scientists
> in Madrid April
> 14 through 15 at the Centro De Astrobiología. The
> Astrobiology
> Science and Technology for Exploring Planets program
> at NASA
> Headquarters, Washington, is funding the project.
> Publication-size
> images are available at:
>
>
http://amesnews.arc.nasa.gov/releases/2003/03images/tinto/tinto.html
>
> Broadcast-quality sound files of interviews suitable
> for radio
> broadcast are at:
>
>
http://amesnews.arc.nasa.gov/audio/tinto/tintoaudio.html
>

=====
"Yo no sufro de locura... la disfruto cada minuto."
Les Luthiers.

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