The M.A.R.T.E. Project

P.I.: Carol Stoker

NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field - California

http://home.comcast.net/~riotinto/

Overview The Mars Astrobiology

Research and Technology Experiment (MARTE) is a field experiment in the NASA ASTEP program designed to search for a subsurface biosphere in the region of the Tinto River, located in the Iberian Pyrite belt, one of the largest deposits of sulphide minerals in the world.

Project’s Focus MARTE has a dual

focus on science and technology development: Achieving new scientific

results. Demonstrating the

technology to search for a subsurface biosphere on Mars.

Ground Truth Drilling 2003 165m of 78mm diameter core was recovered.

Cores were extracted from the ground in 3m lengths and then cut into 1m sections for detailed analysis.

Cores were subject to aseptic sub-sampling of each 1m interval of core; furthermore, biological analysis of the sub-samples has also been done.

Data obtained on the recovered core was collected using remote sensing instruments analogous to those that might be included on a robotic drilling mission.

This remote instruments suite collected core data including:

Color macroscopic imaging of each 1m sections. Microscopic images (6 micron/pixel resolution) every 25cm

intervals. Visible-Near IR spectra collected every 25cm intervals.

GTD-03 Results Discovery of a subsurface biosphere

metabolizing sulfide minerals (Stevens et al., Nature submitted)

Bacteria identified in numerous uncontaminated samples, anaerobic and aerobic chemoautotrophs

Significant hydrogen and methane found in groundwater fluids in pyrite orebody.

Sulfates including Jarosite are mineralogical signatures associated to biological processing.

A B

Ground Truth Drilling 2004 Further commercial drilling was conducted

to verify and provide further insight into subsurface biosphere found in 2003.

Biological Sample analyses underway on hundreds of samples

Analysis will determine bacterial number densities and correlation with resources

Significant Nitrite found in cores Complete data record for 165 m of core

using robotic drill remote sensing instrument suite

2005 Field Robotic Drilling Simulation

Science, technology, and mission operations for drilling will be demonstrated in the implementation of the drilling system composed of the multiple subsystems that make up the MARTE project.

A Pre-deployment sub-system integration is scheduled to take place in March 2005 in the US, while a system operational readiness test is scheduled at a US field site in June 2005.

A mission simulation will take place at Rio Tinto, Spain in September 2005. The mission simulation will include:

A robotically operated Mars drill. A science instrument payload capable of

analyzing extracted cores, their mineralogical compositions, and detecting biology presence.

A science team analyzing core data and selecting subsamples to assay for life detection

Demonstration of life detection instrument technology at TRL6 .

Life detectioninstrument

MissionOperations

Drill CoreService Module

2005 Field Robotic Drilling Simulation …(continued)

The MARTE drill is a highly automated deep drill and core retrieval system. The 10-axis system is designed for subsurface sample recovery and hand-off from depths of up to 10m and it consumes less than 150 Watts during nominal drilling operations.

The drill produces cores with a diameter of 27mm and 250mm in length, while creating a 48mm diameter borehole. The drill uses dry rotary cutting techniques including carbide drag cutters and mono-crystal diamonds.

The core hand-off sub-system removes the core from the lead drill tube and delivers it to a core clamp for sample preparation and analysis by the scientific instruments.

Highly integrated sensor feedback control on all drilling axes allows for future integration of intelligent drilling algorithms and fully autonomous operation.

MARTE

DRILL

2005 Field Robotic Drilling Simulation …(continued)

After the drill is removed, the BHIS is rotated into place to remotely record/analyze the composition of the borehole. The BHIS is deployed nominally no more than once per meter.

The BHIS consist of two main parts: Bore-hole Inspection Tool: Positions and

takes readings from the mounted cameras and Raman spectrometer.

Bore-hole Inspection Standard Tool: Analyzes and records data collected in the hole from its magnetic susceptibility meter apparatus.

The BHIS can position the inspection tool from depths ranging from 0 to 25m with a precision of ~0.1mm.

BoreholeInspection System

2005 Field Robotic Drilling Simulation …(continued)

The CSHS is an automated system capable of positioning a particular section of the core under scrutiny under any of the instruments for analysis with a precision of about 0.01mm.

During the transfer of the core from the drill handoff mechanism onto the CSHS, the core is pushed out of the drill; the exposed rock is pushed past the suite of instruments.

The piston pushing the core is carefully calibrated with the instruments and their placement. At any time, it is well known which part of the core is under which instrument.

A particular spot on the core that is observed by one instrument can later be correlated with readings from another instrument for the same portion of core.

Once the remote science instruments have collected their data, the final item in the series of instruments is the core sub-sample tool. This tool cuts a slice of the core which is deposited in a crusher to conduct analysis requiring powder samples such as SOLID and BSEDS. Core Sample Handling System

Publications 2005 Stevens, T. , C. Stoker, R. Amils, D. Fernandez-Remolar et al., (2005) Subsurface Microbiology of a Volcanically

Hosted Massive Sulfide Deposit: Peña de Hierro, Rio Tinto, Spain, Nature, submitted. C. R. Stoker, et al., Characterization Of A Subsurface Biosphere In A Massive Sulfide Deposit at Río Tinto, Spain:

Implications For Extant Life On Mars. 36th LPSC, Abstract 1534, 2005. C. Stoker, et al., Field Simulation Of A Drilling Mission To Mars To Search For Subsurface Life, 36th LPSC, Abstract

1537, 2005. M. Battler and C. Stoker, Searching For Life Underground: An Analysis of Remote Sensing Observations Of A Drill

Core From Río Tinto, Spain For Mineralogical Indications of Biological Activity. 36th LPSC, Abstract 2392, 2005. D. C. Fernández-Remolar, et al., Río Tinto Faulted Volcanosedimentary Deposits As Analog Habitats For Extant

Subsurface Biospheres On Mars: A Synthesis Of The MARTE Drilling Project Geobiology Results . 36th LPSC, Abstract 1360, 2005.

J. Jernsletten, Fast-Turnoff Transient Electromagnetic (TEM) Field Study At The Mars Analog Site Of Río Tinto, Spain. 36th LPSC, Abstract 1014, 2005.

2004 C. Stoker, et al., Mars Analog Río Tinto Experiment (MARTE): 2003 Drilling Campaign To Search For A subsurface

Biosphere At Río Tinto, Spain. 35th LPSC, Abstract 2025, 2004. D. C. Fernández-Remolar, et al., Searching For An Acidic Aquifer In The Río Tinto Basin. First Geobiology Results of

MARTE Project. 35th LPSC, Abstract 1766, 2004. C. Stoker, et al., Mars Analog Río Tinto Experiment (MARTE): 2003 Drilling Campaign To Search For A Subsurface

Biosphere At Río Tinto, Spain. 2004 AbSciCon, March 28-April 1, 2004, Moffett Field, CA, 2004. D. C. Fernández-Remolar, et al., Iron oxides inside metallic ores of the Rio Tinto Mars analog as possible traces of

chemolithotrophic cryptobiospheres. First Geobiology results of MARTE project. 2004 AbSciCon, March 28-April 1, 2004, Moffett Field, CA, 2004.

J. Gómez-Elvira, et al., A logging instrument for subsurface planetary exploration. 2004 AbSciCon, March 28-April 1, 2004, Moffett Field, CA, 2004.

K. Lynch, et al., Enzyme-Cascade Analysis of the Río Tinto Subsurface Environment: A biosensor development experiment. Abstract, Bioastronomy 2004, Reykjavik, Iceland, July 12-16, 2004.

For further information visit:

http://home.comcast.net/~riotinto/