New ASTEP Projects Reach from Arctic to Antarctic, Mars to Europa

July 22, 2008 / Written by: Linda Billings

The NASA Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP) Program this month has awarded grants to seven new projects, including four field campaigns and three technology development projects.

The new ASTEP field campaigns will take place in terrestrial analogues to other planetary environments, ranging from the high Arctic to Antarctica. The new technology development initiatives will proceed with an eye toward future missions to Mars, Enceladus, and Europa.

The new projects, proposed in response to the NASA Science Mission Directorate’s 2007 “Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences” (ROSES) solicitation, “represent the leading edge of NASA efforts to learn how to explore these alien worlds, while providing science results that make our own planet a bit less alien,” according to Dr. John D. Rummel, Senior Scientist for Astrobiology at NASA HQ, who manages the program.

The four new ASTEP field campaigns are:

• “Oases for Life and Pre-Biotic Chemistry: Hydrothermal Exploration Using Advanced Underwater Robotics,” Principal Investigator (PI), Christopher German, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI): The “Oases” project will use an existing underwater research vehicle, “Nereus,” to explore the Mid Cayman Spreading Center, Earth’s deepest mid-ocean ridge, for novel hydrothermal systems. This project aims to accomplish the deepest-ever submersible dive to the Atlantic seafloor and search for, characterize, and return samples from deep hydrothermal systems. The “Oases” team includes experts from WHOI, the Marine Biological Laboratory, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Duke University.
• “IceBite: An Auger and Sampling Systems for Ground Ice on Mars,” PI, Christopher McKay, NASA Ames Research Center: The IceBite project will develop an ice auger and sampling bit for sampling subsurface ice-cemented ground on Mars. This system will be tested in Antarctica’s University Valley, a terrestrial analogue environment for Mars. The IceBite team includes experts from the Honeybee Robotics, McGill University, and the Canadian Space Agency.
• “Exploration of Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Microbial Communities using the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP): Integration of Geochemical sensing, Autonomous Sample Acquisition and Processing, and Molecular Analytical techniques,” PI, Christopher Scholin, Monterey Bay Aquarium and Research Institute (MBARI): Under a previous ASTEP grant, MBARI developed a special deep-sea (D-ESP) version of its ESP to monitor microbial life in chemical-rich fluids flowing out of a hydrothermal vent on the Juan de Fuca ridge, off the coast of Washington. This new project will expand upon that work, aiming to deploy the D-ESP for autonomous microbial sampling and detection in a variety of deep-sea seep and hydrothermal vent environments. Team members include experts from the California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and other institutions.
• “Arctic Mars Analogue Svalbard Expedition (AMASE) Sample Return,” PI, Andrew Steele, Carnegie Institution for Science: Under a previous ASTEP grant, the AMASE project conducted three expeditions to Svalbard, with the aim of collecting data and demonstrating planetary exploration technologies in a terrestrial analogue environment for Mars. With its new ASTEP grant, the AMASE project will assess sample targeting, acquisition, containment, handling and analysis techniques from a rover platform on Svalbard, an analogue to martian environments where sample return missions may operate. Team members include experts from the Earth and Planetary Exploration Services (Norway), Cornell University, Stanford University, the University of Leeds (U.K.), and other institutions.

The three new ASTEP technology development projects are:

• “VALKYRIE: Very-Deep Autonomous Laser-Powered Kilowatt-Class Yo-Yoing Robotic Ice Explorer,” PI, Bill Stone, Piedra-Sombra Corporation Inc.: The VALKYRIE project will work to develop studies and demonstrations aimed at enabling a later, larger project involving a smart (autonomous), high-power science payload delivery mechanism capable of penetrating through deep ice. Team members include experts from the University of Illinois-Chicago, Stone Aerospace, NASA Ames Research Center, and other institutions.
• “Autonomous Exploration, Discovery, and Sampling of Life in Deep Sea Extreme Environments,” PI, Dana Yoerger, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI): This project will develop and demonstrate fully autonomous techniques for detecting and sampling life in deep-sea extreme environments. Team members include experts from WHOI.
• “Deep Drilling and Sampling Via Compact Low-Mass Rotary-Hammer Auto-Gopher,” PI, Kris Zacny, Honeybee Robotics: This project will develop a drill, called Auto-Gopher, designed to acquire core samples from ice, permafrost, and rocks, theoretically to depths of up to hundreds of meters below the surface of a planet. Field testing will take place near Walker Lake in Nevada. Team members include experts from the California Institute of Technology, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and other institutions.

ASTEP is an element of the NASA Astrobiology Program managed by the Planetary Science Division of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA HQ. The ASTEP selecting official is Dr. James L. Green of the Planetary Science Division. ASTEP projects are supported by NASA with assistance from the National Science Foundation’s Office of Polar Programs (Arctic Research and U.S. Antarctic Program), the Canadian Space Agency’s Analogue Research Network (CARN), and the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS).