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08 April 2003

Juan Baustista Rodriguez
Instituto Nacional de Tecnica Aeroespacial (INTA), Spain
Phone: 34 91 520 1938

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:

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