Path to Finding Life on Mars and in Outer Space Begins By Lookingat Earth's Inner Space (Forwarded)

The JASON Project
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Ashburn, VA 20147

Contact:
Jennifer Walsh, 703-276-2772 x13

For Immediate Release: February 01, 2006

Path to Finding Life on Mars and in Outer Space Begins By Looking at
Earth's Inner Space

Mars Missions Brought to Life in Classrooms, Not Just on Big Screen

Washington, DC -- Clues to finding current or past life on Mars now or
at some point in the past begins with an examination of Earth's most
extreme environments and the adaptable microscopic life that thrives
there, according to a group of researchers launching an international
broadcast science expedition January 30, 2006 with The JASON Project.

By investigating "unlifelike" places on Earth where conditions would
kill most creatures, scientists can determine the kind of energy and
nutrients that may be available to microbial life found under similar
conditions beneath the surface of Mars. Extreme environments on Earth
that serve as Mars analogs -- or models -- include places that reach the
outer limits of hot or cold, are arid or have ultra-high or -low pH.

"One of the biggest questions we face as scientists is: are we alone?
Most people think of finding life on other planets as locating
intelligent life forms elsewhere in our galaxy. But astrobiologists are
approaching this question by looking for simple, microbial life forms in
the backyard of our own Solar System," said Jack Farmer, Ph.D., an
astrobiologist at Arizona State University. "Most intensely, we have
been exploring Mars for evidence of past environments that might harbor
fossil signatures preserved in ancient rocks, or living organisms that
might be hiding in safe places beneath the surface where water could be
abundant. The exploration for a Martian fossil record is being
approached in the same way paleontologists explored for the earliest
fossils of life on our own planet. The biggest challenge has been
adapting these methods for robotic explorers to use."

"Earth is the laboratory for future discoveries on Mars. Without
examining Earth's extreme environments, we wouldn't understand how
processes worked to shape the landscape, chemistry and life at the
limits. Without that understanding, we couldn't draw conclusions about
how life can develop on other planets, " said Jim Garvin, Ph.D., chief
scientist for NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center. "By examining these
windows to Mars, scientists step out of the vicarious and into real
features on Earth that function similarly to those on Mars."

Working with scientists from NASA, Arizona State University and the
University of Hawai'i, the expedition broadcast links recent findings of
the Mars rovers to research conducted at California's Mono Lake, Hawai'i
Volcanoes National Park, Meteor Crater in Arizona and NASA Jet
Propulsion Laboratory to create a comprehensive scientific comparison of
Earth and Mars.

"Looking for life on Mars is such a big task that we really had to start
by building a knowledge base," said Garvin. "We started exploring Mars
with Viking by asking some tough questions, which led to more
complicated questions and more exploration. We have to think of it like
school. We start in kindergarten learning the alphabet and build from
there. In kindergarten, we don't jump right into calculus."

"Mono Lake provides an excellent example of an extreme environment on
Earth, a living laboratory that scientists can use to develop and test
ideas about how to explore for life elsewhere. Mono Lake is found in
the dry, rain shadow desert located just east of the Sierra Nevada
Mountains in California. Mono is referred to as a terminal lake basin.
That means the water flowing into the lake only leaves by evaporation,"
said Farmer. "Since the last ice age, the desert climate has
progressively evaporated Mono Lake, concentrating the salts so that now
the lake has a salinity more than three times that of the Pacific Ocean.
In addition, the lake is highly alkaline, having a pH of between 10
and 11, comparable to a strong detergent. Such intense evaporation
leads to the deposition of salt deposits called evaporites. Scientists
believe that the Mars Exploration rover, Opportunity, landed on an
evaporite deposit, making evaporative lakes like Mono, an excellent
analog for Mars."

"Despite the harsh conditions, Mono Lake is a highly productive
biological environment, basically a microbial "factory" that supports
many other species. For example, Mono Lake is one of the most popular
migratory bird stops in the West, all sustained by microbes. And the
way the microbiology of Mono Lake interacts with salt deposition, it's
also a great place for capturing and preserving fossil signatures of
microbial life," said Farmer.

The research is part of The JASON Project, a middle-grades program that
inspires and excites students about learning by connecting them to real
scientists. Using satellite broadcasts and Internet technology, JASON
scientists are linked to classrooms and educational institutions across
the country for students to interact with JASON researchers in real time
and see how they worked in the field.

"The expedition engages students by having them learn directly from the
scientists," said Caleb M. Schutz, president of The JASON Project.
"We're trying to change the way science is taught by stepping out of the
textbooks and making students a part of the research. We aim to create
moments when the light bulb goes off in a student's head, and he or she
is moved to jump in the game of science. It's important not only for
future generations, but for our entire country as we move into a more
scientific and technological literate society."

"The students that are learning about Mars through this expedition are
understanding the tools and technology to ask the right questions and
get the right answers," said Garvin. "They're the ones who will be
traveling to Mars and making the great discoveries. They'll do the fun
stuff."

To follow The JASON Project's exciting research, visit www.jason.org .
The JASON Project is working collaboratively with NASA, National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, the National Park Service, the National
Geographic Society, EDS, Arizona State University, Jet Propulsion
Laboratory and the University of Hawai`i.

The JASON Project is a subsidiary of the National Geographic Society
dedicated to providing standards-based, multimedia science curricula and
professional development to one million middle-grades students and
20,000 teachers in 41 states and around the world. Combining
technology-rich tools, access to leading scientists and an inquiry-based
approach to learning with standards-based content, JASON inspires
students and teachers to become lifelong learners in science through
active participation in real scientific expeditions around the world.