Earth’s most arid desert may hold a key to finding life on Mars. Diverse microbes discovered in the clay-rich, shallow soil layers in Chile’s dry Atacama Desert suggest that similar […]
Atacama Desert
Posted inAway Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Exploration Gear & Tech, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Fossils & Paleontology, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Press Release
Mineralogy of a Sulfate-rich Inverted Channel in the Atacama Desert, Chile: Clues to its Formation and Preservation
We have performed a stratigraphic and mineralogical analysis of a vertical transect across a ridge located at the distal end of a system of eroded alluvial deposits in the northern […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Desert Worlds, Extremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Habitable Zones, Microbiology & Virology, Press Release
Atacama Desert Microbes May Hold Clues To Life On Mars
Microbial life on Mars may potentially be transported across the planet on dust particles carried by wind, according to a study conducted in the Atacama Desert in North Chile, a […]
Posted inMeteorites & Asteroids, Press Release
The Meteorite Flux of the Last 2 Million Years Recorded in the Atacama Desert
The evolution of the meteorite flux to the Earth can be studied by determining the terrestrial ages of meteorite collected in hot deserts. We have measured the terrestrial ages of […]
Posted inExtremeophiles and Extreme Environments, Press Release
Rain Brings Death To Mars-like Atacama Desert
When rains fell on the arid Atacama Desert, it was reasonable to expect floral blooms to follow. Instead, the water brought death. An international team of planetary astrobiologists has found […]
Posted inBiochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors
Martian Salts Must Touch Ice to Make Liquid Water, Study Shows
In chambers that mimic Mars’ conditions, University of Michigan researchers have shown how small amounts of liquid water could form on the planet despite its below-freezing temperatures.
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Away Teams & Field Reports, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Exploration Gear & Tech, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Reports, Roadmaps, & Plans, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs, Tricorders & Sensors
The Zöe Rover: Robotic Astrobiology Expedition Yields Significant Science Findings
A group of scientists announced today that they identified habitats and microbial life using a rover in Chile’s arid Atacama desert, one of the harshest environments on Earth, and that […]
Posted inAnalog Studies, Arctic / Antarctic / Alpine, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release
Prospects For Martian Life
If there is life on Mars, it may be a microbial form no more complex than blue-green algae, according to Dr. Roy E. Cameron, head of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s […]