NASA Scientists To Study Lake's Primitive Life To Learn About Mars

http://amesnews.arc.nasa.gov/releases/2003/03_81AR.html

Kathleen Burton Oct. 22, 2003
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Phone: 650/604-1731 or 604-9000
E-mail:

Diane Richards
SETI Institute, Mountain View, Calif.
Phone: 650/960-4513
E-mail:

RELEASE: 03-81AR

NOTE TO EDITORS AND NEWS DIRECTORS: News media representatives are invited
to an informal media opportunity with Dr. Nathalie Cabrol, leader of the
Licancabur expedition team, on Thursday, Oct. 23, from 10:00 a.m. to noon
PDT in the Visitor Center at NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field,
Calif. To reach NASA Ames, take the Moffett Field exit from Highway 101 and
drive east to the main gate. Prior to reaching the main gate, turn left at
the four-way stop sign and proceed to the Visitor Center.

NASA SCIENTISTS TO STUDY LAKE'S PRIMITIVE LIFE TO LEARN ABOUT MARS

Scientists from NASA, the SETI Institute and other institutions will study
microscopic life forms in some of the highest lakes on Earth atop a South
American volcano to learn what life may have been like on early Mars.

From Oct. 27 to Nov. 23, scientists will conduct field tests to examine life
forms in several lakes, including the Licancabur volcano crater lake, at
nearly 20,000 ft. in the Andean Altiplano on the border of Bolivia and
Chile.

"Studying life in these lakes not only provides critical information about
the habitability potential of early Mars and other planets in the solar
system, it also opens a window into our own past to reveal how life survived
on Earth 2 billion years before the ozone layer formed," said the project's
principal investigator and expedition lead, Dr. Nathalie A. Cabrol of NASA
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., and the SETI Institute,
Mountain View, Calif.

Intense ultraviolet (UV) radiation, low oxygen, low atmospheric pressure and
cold temperatures make the environment a close analog to martian lakes 3.5
billion years ago. Despite the extreme conditions at Licancabur, scientists
say microscopic life is present and diverse. Its survival strategy might be
very ancient, according to Cabrol.

During their first expedition last year to the same area, CabrolÕs science
team discovered that very small plankton-like algae called diatoms had 10
times more deformities than similar algae in other lakes. UV is believed to
be the 'prime suspect' that may have triggered the malformed algae,
according to Cabrol.

One of the scientists' goals is to identity the species living in the high
lakes and to learn how these living things cope -- or do not cope -- with UV
and other stresses. "Most of the lakes we study there are shallow and do not
provide substantial protection to living organisms. They have nowhere to
hide from UV," Cabrol said. "We want to understand if these diatoms have
developed some sort of 'sunscreen.' If not, they are probably on their way
to extinction," she added.

"Either case represents potentially an immense source of knowledge," Cabrol
said. "On the one hand, we might learn more about life strategy against UV
with all its implications for early planets' habitability and future
astrobiological mission exploration strategies, and on the other hand, we
might possibly be on our way to identifying a limit to life's adaptation on
Earth," Cabrol explained.

The team will set up data-collection stations with instruments and
experiments to measure UV and its effect on life in the area. The stations
also will measure temperature, water properties and other conditions. The
instruments are the first element in a planned large network of stations
that the team will position in coming years at high-altitude lakes up to
20,130 feet. Commonly used in marine and lower altitude lake environments,
these stations have never been taken to such high altitude; scientists
believe they will record unprecedented data for years.

Cabrol and several other scientists also will 'free' dive to collect
biological samples and sediments at various locations in Licancabur Lake
that are not accessible by boat. During their dives, scientists plan to take
underwater pictures and video to document the lakeÕs biology and its
habitats.

Divers will wear 'LifeGuard' devices to monitor the divers' conditions
including real-time vital signs (ECG, heart rate, respiration, oxygen
saturation, temperature and human activity) from the expedition site. A
satellite will relay this data to NASA Ames. Members of the ascent team also
will wear the LifeGuard telemedicine monitors. The 'Astrobionics' team at
NASA Ames developed the monitors for use on Earth and in space.

NASA and the National Geographic Society funded the project, with additional
support from the SETI Institute and other organizations. A list of the
expedition's participants, additional information, audio, video, still
pictures and live educational activities are on the project Web site at:

http://www.extremeenvironment.com

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