Directory

Start date:
November 2012
End date:
February 2013
Locations:
University Valley / Lake Joyce
Principle Investigator:
Christopher McKay
Organisation:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Space Science Division, Moffett Field, California
This project is funded by NASA ASTEP (Astrobiology Science & Technology for Exploring Planets). Researchers will develop an ice auger and sampling bit for sampling subsurface ice-cemented ground on Mars. Ice on Mars is an important target for astrobiology because ice-rich locations could have been sites of liquid water activity during periods of high obliquity and because ice may preserve organics. The IceBite drill will penetrate several meters into the ground ice to collect deeper, older ice and search for signs of organics and life. Dry permafrost in the McMurdo Dry Valleys offers Mars-like conditions in which to test the auger and sampling system. Researchers will also investigate the physics and microbiology of the samples they recover as an analog for Mars. The IceBite team includes experts from the Honeybee Robotics, McGill University, and the Canadian Space Agency.