Edmond A. Grin

Life in the Atacama: Searching for life with rovers (science overview)

[1] The Life in the Atacama project investigated the regional distribution of life and habitats in the Atacama Desert of Chile. We sought to create biogeologic maps through survey traverses across the desert using a rover carrying biologic and geologic instruments. Elements of our science approach were to: Perform ecological transects from the relatively wet coastal range to the arid core of the desert; use converging evidence from science instruments to reach conclusions about microbial abundance; and develop and test exploration strategies adapted to the search of scattered surface and shallow subsurface microbial oases. Understanding the ability of science teams to detect and characterize microbial life signatures remotely using a rover became central to the project. Traverses were accomplished using an autonomous rover in a method that is technologically relevant to Mars exploration. We present an overview of the results of the 2003, 2004, and 2005 field investigations. They include: The confirmed identification of microbial habitats in daylight by detecting fluorescence signals from chlorophyll and dye probes; the characterization of geology by imaging and spectral measurement; the mapping of life along transects; the characterization of environmental conditions; the development of mapping techniques including homogeneous biological scoring and predictive models of habitat location; the development of exploration strategies adapted to the search for life with an autonomous rover capable of up to 10 km of daily traverse; and the autonomous detection of life by the rover as it interprets observations on-the-fly and decides which targets to pursue with further analysis.

Aqueous processes at Gusev crater inferred from physical properties of rocks and soils along the Spirit traverse

[1]xa0Gusev crater was selected as the landing site for Spirit on the basis of morphological evidence of long-lasting water activity, including possibly fluvial and lacustrine episodes. From the Columbia Memorial Station to the Columbia Hills, Spirits traverse provides a journey back in time, from relatively recent volcanic plains showing little evidence for aqueous processes up to the older hills, where rock and soil composition are drastically different. For the first 156 sols, the only evidence of water action was weathering rinds, vein fillings, and soil crust cementation by salts. The trenches of Sols 112–145 marked the first significant findings of increased concentrations of sulfur and magnesium varying in parallel, suggesting that they be paired as magnesium-sulfate. Spirits arrival at West Spur coincided with a shift in rock and soil composition with observations hinting at substantial amounts of water in Gusevs past. We used the Microscopic Imager data up to Sol 431 to analyze rock and soil properties and infer plausible types and magnitude of aqueous processes through time. We show the role played early by topography and structure. The morphology, texture, and deep alteration shown by the rocks in West Spur and the Columbia Hills Formation (CHF) suggest conditions that are not met in present-day Mars and required a wetter environment, which could have included transport of sulfur, chlorine, and bromine in water, vapor in volcanic gases, hydrothermal circulation, or saturation in a briny fluid containing the same elements. Changing conditions that might have affected flow circulation are suggested by different textural and morphological characteristics between the rocks in the CHF and those of the plains, with higher porosity proxy, higher void ratio, and higher water storage potential in the CHF. Soils were used to assess aqueous processes and water pathways in the top layers of modern soils. We conclude that infiltration might have become more difficult with time.

Soil sedimentology at Gusev Crater from Columbia Memorial Station to Winter Haven

[1]xa0A total of 3140 individual particles were examined in 31 soils along Spirits traverse. Their size, shape, and texture were quantified and classified. They represent a unique record of 3 years of sedimentologic exploration from landing to sol 1085 covering the Plains Unit to Winter Haven where Spirit spent the Martian winter of 2006. Samples in the Plains Unit and Columbia Hills appear as reflecting contrasting textural domains. One is heterogeneous, with a continuum of angular-to-round particles of fine sand to pebble sizes that are generally dust covered and locally cemented in place. The second shows the effect of a dominant and ongoing dynamic aeolian process that redistributes a uniform population of medium-size sand. The texture of particles observed in the samples at Gusev Crater results from volcanic, aeolian, impact, and water-related processes.

The High‐Lakes Project

[1]xa0The High Lakes Project is a multidisciplinary astrobiological investigation studying high-altitude lakes between 4200 m and 6000 m elevation in the Central Andes of Bolivia and Chile. Its primary objective is to understand the impact of increased environmental stress on the modification of lake habitability potential during rapid climate change as an analogy to early Mars. Their unique geophysical environment and mostly uncharted ecosystems have added new objectives to the project, including the assessment of the impact of low-ozone/high solar irradiance in nonpolar aquatic environments, the documentation of poorly known ecosystems, and the quantification of the impact of climate change on lake environment and ecosystem. Data from 2003 to 2007 show that UV flux is 165% that of sea level with maximum averaged UVB reaching 4 W/m2. Short UV wavelengths (260–270 nm) were recorded and peaked at 14.6 mW/m2. High solar irradiance occurs in an atmosphere permanently depleted in ozone falling below ozone hole definition for 33–36 days and between 30 and 35% depletion the rest of the year. The impact of strong UVB and UV erythemally weighted daily dose on life is compounded by broad daily temperature variations with sudden and sharp fluctuations. Lake habitat chemistry is highly dynamical with notable changes in yearly ion concentrations and pH resulting from low and variable yearly precipitation. The year-round combination of environmental variables define these lakes as end-members. In such an environment, they host ecosystems that include a significant fraction of previously undescribed species of zooplankton, cyanobacterial, and bacterial populations.

Searching for microbial life remotely: Satellite‐to‐rover habitat mapping in the Atacama Desert, Chile

[1]xa0The Atacama Desert, one of the most arid landscapes on Earth, serves as an analog for the dry conditions on Mars and as a test bed in the search for life on other planets. During the Life in the Atacama (LITA) 2004 field experiment, satellite imagery and ground-based rover data were used in concert with a ‘follow-the-water’ exploration strategy to target regions of biological interest in two (1 coastal, 1 inland) desert study sites. Within these regions, environments were located, studied and mapped with spectroscopic and fluorescence imaging (FI) for habitats and microbial life. Habitats included aqueous sedimentary deposits (e.g., evaporites), igneous materials (e.g., basalt, ash deposits), rock outcrops, drainage channels and basins, and alluvial fans. Positive biological signatures (chlorophyll, DNA, protein) were detected at 81% of the 21 locales surveyed with the FI during the long-range, autonomous traverses totaling 30 km. FI sensitivity in detecting microbial life in extreme deserts explains the high percentage of positives despite the low actual abundance of heterotrophic soil bacteria in coastal (<1–104 CFU/g-soil) and interior (<1–102 CFU/g-soil) desert soils. Remote habitat, microbial and climate observations agreed well with ground-truth, indicating a drier and less microbially rich interior compared to the relatively wetter and abundant biology of the coastal site where rover sensors detected the presence of fog and abundant surface lichens. LITA project results underscore the importance of an explicit focus by all engineering and science disciplines on microbially relevant scales (mm to nm), and highlight the success of satellite-based and ‘follow-the-water’ strategies for locating diverse habitats of biological promise and detecting the microbial hotspots within them.

Robotic ecological mapping: Habitats and the search for life in the Atacama Desert

[1] As part of the three-year ‘Life in the Atacama’ (LITA) project, plant and microbial abundance were mapped within three sites in the Atacama Desert, Chile, using an automated robotic rover. On-board fluorescence imaging of six biological signatures (e.g., chlorophyll, DNA, proteins) was used to assess abundance, based on a percent positive sample rating system and standardized robotic ecological transects. The percent positive rating system scored each sample based on the measured signal strength (0 for no signal to 2 for strong signal) for each biological signature relative to the total rating possible. The 2005 field experiment results show that percent positive ratings varied significantly across Site D (coastal site with fog), with patchy zones of high abundance correlated with orbital and microscale habitat types (heaved surface crust and gravel bars); alluvial fan habitats generally had lower abundance. Non-random multi-scale biological patchiness also characterized interior desert Sites E and F, with relatively high abundance associated with (paleo)aqueous habitats such as playas. Localized variables, including topography, played an important, albeit complex, role in microbial spatial distribution. Site D biosignature trends correlated with culturable soil bacteria, with MPN ranging from 10-1000 CFU/g-soil, and chlorophyll ratings accurately mapped lichen/moss abundance (Site D) and higher plant (Site F) distributions. Climate also affected biological patchiness, with significant correlation shown between abundance and (rover) air relative humidity, while lichen patterns were linked to the presence of fog. Rover biological mapping results across sites parallel longitudinal W-E wet/dry/wet Atacama climate trends. Overall, the study highlights the success of targeting of aqueousassociated habitats identifiable from orbital geology and mineralogy. The LITA experience also suggests the terrestrial study of life and its distribution, particularly the fields of landscape ecology and ecohydrology, hold critical lessons for the search for life on other planets. Their applications to robotic sampling strategies on Mars should be further exploited.

Investigating microbial diversity and UV radiation impact at the high-altitude Lake Aguas Calientes, Chile

The High-Lakes Project is funded by the NAI and explores the highest perennial volcanic lakes on Earth in the Bolivian and Chilean Andes, including several lakes ~6,000 m elevation. These lakes represent an opportunity to study the evolution of microbial organisms in relatively shallow waters not providing substantial protection against UV radiation. Aguas Calientes (5,870 m) was investigated (November 2006) and samples of water and sediment collected at 1, 3, 5, and 10 cm depth. An Eldonet UV dosimeter positioned on the shore records UV radiation and temperature, and is logging data year round. A UV SolarLight sensor allowed acquisition of point measurements in all channels at the time of the sampling. UVA, UVB, and PAR peaks between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm reached 7.7 mW/cm2, 48.5 μW/cm2, and 511 W/m2, respectively. The chemical composition of the water sample was analyzed. DNA was extracted and DGGE analyses with bacterial and archaeal 16S fragments were performed to describe microbial diversity. Antibiotic resistances were established previously in similar environments in Argentine Andean wetlands. In order to determine these resistances in our samples, they were inoculated onto LB and R2A media and onto R2A medium containing either chloramphenicol, ampicillin or tetracycline. Bacterial was higher than archeal cell number determined by RT-PCR in all the samples, reaching maximum total values of 5x105 cell mL-1. DGGE results from these samples and Licancabur summit lake (5,916 m) samples were also compared. Eight antibiotic-resistant Gram negative strains have been isolated with distinct resistance patterns.

1 – Searching for lakes on Mars: Four decades of exploration

This chapter discusses the morphological, geological, and mineralogical features of lakes on Mars. The existence of lakes on ancient Mars is now widely accepted, but that was not always the case. The history of science shows that knowledge on any scientific question is shaped by the means of exploration and those means are molded by what we think the world is. Prior to MGS of the late 1990s, the relatively low resolution of orbital imagery made it difficult to confirm Martian paleolakes by direct observations, though their existence was inferred because valley networks had already been identified on Viking and Mariner 9 images. Whether the early climate of Mars was much warmer and wetter in the Noachian compared to the later geological epochs is still the subject of ongoing debate. The existence of standing bodies of water on Mars required that at some point in its history, possibly repeatedly, physicochemical and environmental conditions allowing water to circulate and to pond were met. In addition to mineralogy and morphology, another clue about the conditions at the time of lake formation can be revealed by numbers. At Viking resolution, 179 putative impact crater lakes were identified and 210 open lake systems were cataloged from a global survey using the most recent datasets. Combined, the results from morphology, mineralogy, and estimation of lake production support the idea that favorable conditions did exist on Mars to produce a few large bodies of water, and many more, smaller lakes that formed by processes analogous to those occurring on Earth.

Sands at Gusev Crater, Mars

Processes, environments, and the energy associated with the transport and deposition of sand at Gusev Crater are characterized at the microscopic scale through the comparison of statistical moments for particle size and shape distributions. Bivariate and factor analyses define distinct textural groups at 51 sites along the traverse completed by the Spirit rover as it crossed the plains and went into the Columbia Hills. Fine-to-medium sand is ubiquitous in ripples and wind drifts. Most distributions show excess fine material, consistent with a predominance of wind erosion over the last 3.8 billion years. Negative skewness at West Valley is explained by the removal of fine sand during active erosion, or alternatively, by excess accumulation of coarse sand from a local source. The coarse to very coarse sand particles of ripple armors in the basaltic plains have a unique combination of size and shape. Their distribution display significant changes in their statistical moments within the ~400 m that separate the Columbia Memorial Station from Bonneville Crater. Results are consistent with aeolian and/or impact deposition, while the elongated and rounded shape of the grains forming the ripples, as well as their direction of origin, could point to Maadim Vallis as a possible source. For smaller particles on the traverse, our findings confirm that aeolian processes have dominated over impact and other processes to produce sands with the observed size and shape patterns across a spectrum of geologic (e.g., ripples and plains soils) and aerographic settings (e.g., wind shadows).

Surface and subsurface composition of the life in the Atacama field sites from rover data and orbital image analysis

[1]xa0The Life in the Atacama project examined six different sites in the Atacama Desert (Chile) over 3 years in an attempt to remotely detect the presence of life with a rover. The remote science team, using only orbital and rover data sets, identified areas with a high potential for life as targets for further inspection by the rover. Orbital data in the visible/near infrared (VNIR) and in the thermal infrared (TIR) were used to examine the mineralogy, geomorphology, and chlorophyll potential of the field sites. Field instruments included two spectrometers (VNIR reflectance and TIR emission) and a neutron detector: this project represents the first time a neutron detector has been used as part of a “science-blind” rover field test. Rover-based spectroscopy was used to identify the composition of small scale features not visible in the orbital images and to improve interpretations of those data sets. The orbital and ground-based data sets produced consistent results, suggesting that much of the field sites consist of altered volcanic terrains with later deposits of sulfates, quartz, and iron oxides. At one location (Site A), the ground-based spectral data revealed considerably greater compositional diversity than was seen from the orbital view. One neutron detector transect provided insight into subsurface hydrogen concentrations, which correlated with life and surface features. The results presented here have implications for targeting strategies, especially for future Mars rover missions looking for potential habitats/paleohabitats.