Directory

Start date:
Mid November 2009
End date:
Late December 2009
Locations:
Lake Bonney, Lake Joyce, Beacon Valley
Principle Investigator:
Christopher McKay
Organisation:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
State
California
The goal of this project is to develop an auger and sampling tool that can be used to aseptically sample subsurface ice-cemented ground on Earth and Mars. The tool, IceBite, will be developed at NASA and then tested in the dry valleys. The dry valleys contain ground ice that is the best analog for ground ice on Mars. During this field season, researcher will focus on physical measurements of ground ice at three sites in the Dry Valleys: Lake Bonney, Pierce Valley and Lake Joyce, and University Valley. They will begin at Lake Bonney with equipment testing. From there they will travel by helicopter to Pierce and University Valleys.