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University of California-Berkeley

25 June 2003

UC Berkeley-led team to explore the elements needed to support
Martian life By Sarah Yang, Public Affairs

BERKELEY -- Could life once have existed on planets other than Earth,
perhaps on Mars? A team of researchers led by the University of
California, Berkeley, has joined the quest to find the answer.

The NASA Astrobiology Institute (NAI) announced this week that UC
Berkeley is one of 12 institutions that will receive funding to study
the origin, evolution and future of life in the universe. The
institute is awarding the UC Berkeley-led team $1.23 million for the
first year of a five-year grant to study the biosphere of Mars, both
ancient and recent. 

As part of the exploration of what was, is and may be in the Martian
world, the researchers will analyze the evolution of the planet's
hydrosphere and surface topography, as well as reactions that may
have contributed to an atmospheric shield that could have protected
organisms from harmful ultraviolet radiation. 

"We chose to focus on Mars because it is the most accessible site in
our solar system that could have reasonably supported life," said the
principal investigator, Jill Banfield, a UC Berkeley professor in the
departments of Earth and Planetary Science and Environmental Science,
Policy and Management. 

Five of the 10 team members are researchers at UC Berkeley's
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. They are Banfield,
Kristie Boering, Donald DePaolo, William Dietrich and Michael Manga.

As part of the project, the researchers will study regions on Earth
that have conditions analogous to those on the surface of Mars, such
as dry, cold desert environments in Oregon and Idaho.

"There are ecosystems among the basaltic rocks in these regions on
Earth where microbial life is supported by inorganic chemicals rather
than photosynthesis," said Banfield. "By understanding how certain
microbes utilize iron and sulfur, common elements in Martian geology,
we can obtain clues as to how life may have emerged and thrived on
Mars."

The team includes an engineer who will study how robotics could be
used to sample the Martian surface, including areas with evidence of
sustained water flow that could have sustained life.

The NAI, founded in 1997, is a multidisciplinary research consortium
that partners NASA with competitively selected major research
organizations around the world. The institute's central offices are
located at the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field.

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