Eric Boyd of the Montana State University Astrobiology Biogeocatalysis Research Center (MSUABRC) recently led an expedition to Robertson Glacier to examine the microbiology and geochemistry of subglacial environments as it applies to Mars exploration. The field expedition also involved researchers John Peters, director of MSUABRC, Mark Skidmore (MSU), and Matt Urschel (MSU); Everett Shock and Jeff Havig of the Arizona State University Follow the Elements team, and Kevin Hand of the Jet Propulsion Lab Icy Worlds team.

Continue reading "Expedition to Robertson Glacier, Kananaskis Country, Alberta, Canada" »

Posted by Keith Cowing at 3:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The "Martha T. Muse Prize for Science and Policy in Antarctica" is a US $100,000 unrestricted award presented to an individual in the fields of Antarctic science or policy that has demonstrated potential for sustained and significant contributions that will enhance the understanding and/or preservation of Antarctica. The Prize is inspired by Martha T. Muse's passion for Antarctica and is intended to be a legacy of the International Polar Year 2007-2008. The prize-winner can be from any country and work in any field of Antarctic science or policy. The goal is to provide recognition of the important work being done by the individual and to call attention to the significance of understanding Antarctica in a time of change. A web site with further details, including the process of nomination and selection of the Prize recipients is available at www.museprize.org .

The Prize is awarded by the Tinker Foundation (http://foundationcenter.org/grantmaker/tinker/) and administered by the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). (http://www.scar.org/)

Note the deadline for nominations is the 15th of October. [Source: NAI Newsletter]

Posted by Keith Cowing at 12:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

• AMASE blog 2009: SLIce: Searching for Signatures of Life in Ice
• AMASE Blog 2009: Flying to Bockfjorden
• AMASE blog - August 9: Lance arriving
• AMASE blog - August 8: Science in NyAlesund
• AMASE blog - August 6: Athena (FIDO) rocks!
• AMASE 2009: Day 1: Arrival At Svalbard
• AMASE 2009 Expedition Takes Off in the Arctic

Posted by Keith Cowing at 9:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Iceland, 29 June to 13 July 2009

Deadline: Applications due March 1, 2009

The NASA Astrobiology Institute and the Nordic Astrobiology Network will conduct a summer school on the role of water in the evolution of life in the cosmos - in Iceland on the above dates. The school is intended for students and post-docs in astrobiology-related subjects (biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, geosciences etc.)

Continue reading "NORDIC-NASA Astrobiology Summer School" »

Posted by Keith Cowing at 10:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This amendment replaces the draft text in Appendix C.24 entitled "Moon and Mars Analog Mission Activities" with the final text. NASA Moon and Mars Analog Mission Activities (MMAMA) research addresses the need for integrated interdisciplinary field experiments as an integral part of preparation for planned human and robotic missions to the Moon and Mars. The focus of this program is on providing high-fidelity scientific investigations, scientific input, and science operations constraints in the context of planetary field campaigns. Funding provided in this program element is intended to enable researchers to conduct scientific investigations and integrate their instruments, projects, and/or protocols into field activities designed to help NASA plan for future exploration of the Moon, Mars, and other planetary bodies with both robots and humans.

Continue reading "ROSES-08 Amendment 32: Final text for Moon and Mars Analog Mission Activities (MMAMA)" »

Posted by Keith Cowing at 8:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NAI - Nordic Summer School: "Water, Ice and the Origin of Life in the Universe"

Iceland, 29 June to 13 July 2009

The NASA Astrobiology Institute and the Nordic Astrobiology Network will conduct a summer school on the role of water in the evolution of life in the cosmos - in Iceland on the above dates. The school is intended for students and post-docs in astrobiology-related subjects (biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, geosciences etc.) The school will be organized in three sections:

* An introductory lecture course
* Excursions to several places in Iceland of astrobiological interest (hot springs, glaciers, geysers, Mars-like environments)
* A lab course on the geochemistry and extremophile community of hot springs (no previous experience in microbiological lab work and field research needed)

Continue reading "Nordic Summer School: "Water, Ice and the Origin of Life in the Universe"" »

Posted by Keith Cowing at 8:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Scientists have brought the ENDURANCE underwater vehicle to Lake Bonney, a perpetually ice-covered salt lake located in Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys.

ENDURANCE, an autonomous vehicle designed to swim untethered under ice, will spend a month creating three-dimensional maps of the underwater environment. It also will collect data on the environmental conditions and take samples of microbial life. If all goes well, in the future NASA could send a similar probe to explore the ocean on Jupiter's icy moon Europa.

Read the daily blog entries written by scientists in the field as they work in Earth's coldest environment, testing the limits of ENDURANCE.

Continue reading "ENDURANCE Dives Under the Ice in Antarctica's Lake Bonney" »

Posted by Keith Cowing at 2:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jennifer Eigenbrode: Ice is a cryogenic vault for preserving organics and other materials that may record planetary processes. On Earth, cold temperatures retard against hydrolysis and oxidation, which degrade biomolecules and other organics, allowing traces of life to persist in the presence of impurities. We are exploring the dilute biological and organic inventory contained within modern glacial ice on Earth in order to understand the habitat of microorganisms in near-surface glacial ice and to distinguish allochthonous from autochthonous organic records.

Continue reading "Records of Life in Ice: Opening the Cryogenic Vault" »

Posted by Keith Cowing at 8:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Damhnait Gleeson: Borup Fiord Pass, located on the Canadian Arctic Island of Ellesmere, represents the only known site on Earth where sulfur minerals and glacial ice are found in intimate association. Spring waters access the surface of the ice during the melt season each year, depositing elemental sulfur, gypsum and calcite and exsolving H2S. The sulfur signature of the spring deposits is extensive enough to be detected and monitored from orbital satellite observations and an autonomous onboard classifier can provide temporal coverage of spring activity. Diverse microbial communities are active within the deposits and are mediating the geochemistry of the deposits by the sulfur redox transformations from which they gain energy. Cultivation experiments targeting sulfide-oxidizing members of the microbial community have isolated microorganisms from the spring deposits which are producing biomineralized sulfur structures in culture.

Continue reading "An Arctic Analog to Europa: Signs of Life on the Ice" »

Posted by Keith Cowing at 8:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Editor's note: Three live webcams are now online at the Haughton-Mars Project Research Station on Devon Island: Webcam 1 |Webcam 2 | Webcam 3

Today's video: Charles Cockell from Open University talks about polar geomicrobiology at Trinity Lake on Devon Island (below)

Continue reading "Video and Live Webcams from Devon Island" »

Posted by Keith Cowing at 8:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Researchers from NAI's Penn State Team announced at the American Society of Microbiology General Meeting in Boston their discovery of a novel species of ultra-small bacteria that has survived for more than 120,000 years within the ice of a Greenland glacier at a depth of nearly two miles. The species is related genetically to certain bacteria found in fish, marine mud, and the roots of some plants, yet it has persisted in a low-temperature, high-pressure, reduced-oxygen, and nutrient-poor habitat. The study's authors speculate that it's unusual size helped enable it's survival in the ice for so long. [Source: NAI Newsletter]

Posted by Keith Cowing at 3:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Presenters: Jody Deming and James Staley (University of Washington)

Date/Time: Monday, March 31, 2008 11:00 AM Pacific

For more information and participation instructions: http://nai.arc.nasa.gov/seminars/seminar_detail.cfm?ID=119

Posted by Keith Cowing at 6:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The NAI is pleased to sponsor travel scholarships for four graduate students (senior level) or postdoctoral fellows (with less than two years of postdoctoral training) to attend the Third International Polar and Alpine Microbiology Conference, to be held in Banff, Alberta, Canada, May 11-15, 2008. See the conference website for more details: http://www.polaralpinemicrobiology.com/. Each award will provide up to $2000 to defray the cost of economy airfare from US or Canadian cities and local travel, registration and up to four nights lodging at the workshop venue (shared room, if at all possible). Travel funds will be awarded on a competitive basis.

Continue reading "NAI Travel Scholarships Available for the International Conference on Polar and Alpine Microbiology" »

Posted by Keith Cowing at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NASA Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expedition Field Report (AMASE 2007): Arriving in Longyearbyen, Kirsten Fristad, NASA GSFC

"I became more and more excited the closer I got to Longyearbyen, Svalbard. After a busy year working in the SAM Lab at NASA Goddard I am returning to the arctic as part of the Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expedition, otherwise known as AMASE 07. No longer a 'newbie' to AMASE, I know I am quickly approaching long work days, sleepless nights and instrument malfunctions. I am also approaching jovial camaraderie, new experiences and the most beautiful landscapes I have ever set eyes on."

ESA AMASE student blog: Arrival at Longyearbyen, Thea Falkenbergand, ESA

"We arrived at Longyearbyen at about 14:00 yesterday with only a single suitcase missing, which fortunately turned up later when the rest of our cargo was located. About half of the expedition arrived on this flight, some with up to 200 kg overweight ;-)."

Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expedition
Previous AMASE postings (2006 and 2007)

Posted by Keith Cowing at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

2007-2008 is the International Polar Year! NASA is helping to celebrate by organizing information, multimedia, and other resources about polar research for teachers, scientists, and the public. Learn about life in snow and ice at Earth's poles, atmospheric and climate studies, and missions exploring the polar regions of other planets. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/IPY/atmosphere/index.html [Source: NAI Newsletter]

Posted by Keith Cowing at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Live from the International Polar Year! Webinar with the Oden Expedition

"Join Teachers Ute Kaden and Allan Miller live from the Oden Icebreaker en route to Antarctica! The webinar interface, HorizonWimba, allows presentation of powerpoint slides over the Internet during a conference call, and includes other useful functions such as online chat and polling features. To take full advantage of the webinar you will need telephone and Internet access. If you do not have Internet access, however, you can simply join the conference call."

PolarTrec Forum

Allan Miller's Journal

Posted by Keith Cowing at 1:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Follow along as scientists from NAI's University of Hawai'i Team go on expedition with the NSF/NASA-sponsored Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET) program. View photos, read about the team and their mission, and stay current with regular dispatches from the "Streets of McMurdo."

Continue reading "AI Researchers Search for Meteorites in Antarctica" »

Posted by Keith Cowing at 12:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

With this amendment to ROSES-2006, NASA establishes a new program element in Appendix A.24 entitled "International Polar Year (IPY) Education and Public Outreach."

Continue reading "ROSES-06 Amendment 16: New proposal opportunity for IPY Education and Public Outreach" »

Posted by Keith Cowing at 1:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Exploration, Science, and Art: A Book Review of Terra Antarctica and Driving to Mars, SpaceRef

"When it comes to exploration, there's nothing like being there. Yet at some point, all explorers need to tell others what they have seen - as well as find a way to understand and recall the experience themselves. Exploration is pointless if it is not shared.

It is the process whereby explorers put new vistas and experiences into a context they can internalize - and then how these impressions are shared with others that fascinates author William Fox. In his two most recent books "Terra Antarctica" and "Driving to Mars" Fox recounts his own experiences - and those of others - at Earth's two poles."

Posted by Keith Cowing at 2:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

NAI investigators, led by Jake Maule of the CIW Team, are exploring the Kamchatka Peninsula in Eastern Russia. Kamchatka is a vast land of 'fire and ice', being home to 10% of the most active volcanoes on Earth with many surrounded by glaciers.

Continue reading "NAI Explores Most Active Volcanic Region on Earth & Brings the Public Along" »

Posted by Keith Cowing at 11:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kirsten Fristad's NASA Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expedition Field Reports

"I stand at the window looking out over Sassenfjord. Our trip has come to an end. The sky is cool and the mountains around Longyearbyen are dark in comparison to the white glaciers in the distance. I am exhausted from the late nights and early mornings of the expedition, but am completely overcome by the beauty of this place."

Recent Reports:

Continue reading "AMASE 2006 Updates" »

Posted by Keith Cowing at 9:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kirsten Fristad's NASA Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expedition Field Reports

"The last two days have been very busy with instrument testing, gathering last minute supplies and attending an arctic training course. The cold temperatures here pose a serious challenge to our instruments here as it can greatly affect our power consumption, pressure readings and pumping capabilities."

NASA Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expedition Field Reports:

Continue reading "AMASE 2006 Updates" »

Posted by Keith Cowing at 6:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expedition (AMASE) 2006, NASA

"In August, members of the Sample Analysis of Mars (SAM) Lab team will spend two and a half weeks in Svalbard. The objective of the Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expedition (AMASE) is to characterize the geology, geophysical features, biosignatures, and possible life forms of volcanic centers, warm springs, and perennial rivers, settings thought to be analogous to sites on ancient Mars. AMASE targets the Bockfjorden area of the Norwegian island of Svalbard, in hot-spring-deposited carbonate terraces."

Posted by Keith Cowing at 2:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Aerial Photo of the Haughton-Mars Project Research Station (HMP RS) on Devon Island, High Arctic, taken from a helicopter on July 20, 2006.

[Larger panorama]

Posted by Keith Cowing at 2:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Towards the end of our summer expedition while flying back to Eureka from our camp on Axel Heiberg, I spotted a lake with what appeared to be green ice on it.

Continue reading "Green ice, Ravens, Ice Caves and the Movie ‘Contact’" »

Posted by Dale Andersen at 6:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Haughton-Mars Project Expedition 2005: Interplanetary Supply Chain Management & Logistics Architectures: Final NASA/MIT Report

"From an exploration perspective we found that HMP– despite the identified differences with a Lunar or Martian base – is an ideal research environment for interplanetary logistics, because it: ..."

Posted by Keith Cowing at 6:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Click on image to view video (Quicktime required)

The Campbell Scientific met station (automated weather station) we installed last April at M.A.R.S includes an enclosed digital camera (CC640) that is programmed to acquire two images per day - one at 9 am and another at 1 pm local time.

Continue reading "McGill Arctic Research Station (M.A.R.S.) Weather Video" »

Posted by Dale Andersen at 1:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Research Activities in the Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse - July 2006 Update

"Our autonomous greenhouse in the Arctic produces and manages its own power, has its own communications system for command and telemetry, and a robust data acquisition and control system for making measurements and maintaining the environment in the greenhouse. This project began in 2002 and every year we improve the systems and make them more reliable and more robust."

Posted by Keith Cowing at 9:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Descent Into the Ice, NOVA, PBS

"A team of "glacionauts" ventures into a labyrinth of unexplored and hazardous glacier caves on France's Mt. Blanc."

Editor's note: Highly recommended.

Posted by Keith Cowing at 3:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Mars Institute Core Team Arrives in Resolute Bay, Nunavut

"The first charter plane arrived in Resolute Bay yesterday on schedule with the initial Mars Institute core team and cargo. Another charter with personnel and cargo is scheduled to arrive in Resolute on Wednesday, July 5th."

Posted by Keith Cowing at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"A four-person team departs today for an expedition to the top of the world, where mineral-rich waters seep from the top of a 200-meter-thick glacier. Sulfur-bearing compounds precipitate from the waters and stain the glacial ice of Borup Fiord Pass, marking the locations of the springs with bright yellow splotches that are easily visible from the air. The place calls to mind the ruddy, sulfur-rich stains on the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa, and one of the expedition members is traveling there to gather samples and data that will help with the planning of future Europa missions."

News story
Backgrounder
[Source: Planetary Society]

Posted by Keith Cowing at 10:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The ISBOX-II expedition lead by Eric Gaidos of the University of Hawaii NAI team will drill and sample a subglacial lake for microbiology and geochemistry. The expedition takes place June 6-13, 2006. Details and progress of "ISBOX 2" can be found at: http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/UHNAI/isbox2.htm [Source: NAI Newsletter]

Posted by Keith Cowing at 11:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Editor's note: The Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse woke up several weeks ago. Located at the Mars Institute's HMP Research Station on Devon Island, this greenhouse has several webcams located inside which are now sending back images on a more or less daily basis. Webcam 2 looks south at the growing trays. Webcam 3 looks north at the heating system. Note: ignore the date stamp on these webcam images - apparently both cameras lost track of time during the several months of darkness when they were inactive.

During fall 2005 there was some unusual activity in and around the greenhouse and the report listed below describes what is known to date. Another update to this report will follow soon.

Continue reading "Daily Webcam Images From Devon Island Greenhouse" »

Posted by Keith Cowing at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Toward an Integrated Arctic Observing Network, Committee on Designing an Arctic Observing Network, National Research Council

ISBN: 0-309-10052-6, 128 pages, 8 1/2 x 11, paperback (2006)

This report outlines the potential scope, composition, and implementation strategy for an arctic observing network (AON). Such an integrated, complete, dynamic, and multidisciplinary environmental observing network will improve society’s understanding of and ability to respond to ongoing systemic changes in the Arctic and its capability to anticipate, predict, and respond to future change both in the Arctic and around the globe.

Continue reading "NRC Integrated Arctic Observing Network Report" »

Posted by Keith Cowing at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HMP Research Station Field Update - July 29, 2005

"Today's activities centered around a major traverse into the Haughton Crater so that Dr. Jeff Jones could complete his sampling of unvisited locations looking to see if the human associated microbes have altered the local microflora for a planetary protection study. As well on the same traverse Dr. Brian Glass also needed to completed his sampling gravity measurements for his research."

Posted by Keith Cowing at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

HMP Research Station Geology and Geochemistry Report Provided by Dr. John Parnell and Paula Lindgren, University of Aberdeen, July 29, 2005

"Research has continued on the response of organic matter in the crater target rocks to the impact event. Our previous studies have shown that organic matter increases in thermal maturity (more heated) towards the crater centre, but that in most of the crater the heating was not so intense as to destroy fossil biomolecular evidence of life, or even extant life."

Posted by Keith Cowing at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kevin Hand's Antarctic Journal 1 March 2005

"Ok, well, this is it folks, one last email and then I'm on a plane back to LA. I've been in New Zealand for a bit and I've finally had a chance to type up my notes for this final update about our work in Antarctica. Here we go... So the last update gave you a sense of the research we're doing. Now let me give you a sense of life in the field and what it's like to live, work, and eat in the middle of nowhere in Antarctica."

Posted by Keith Cowing at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kevin Hand's Antarctic Journal 8 February 2005

"Hello again from Antarctica. Ok, well, I'm back at McMurdo Station. All went very well in the field - our instruments worked great, we collected lots of data, and had an amazing time exploring a phenomenally interesting and unique little nook on planet Earth. Now for the background on what exactly we're doing."

Posted by Keith Cowing at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kevin Hand's Antarctic Journal 20 January 2005

"Tonight, however, was different. The magic fax came. Like Santa down the chimney, the bell hop came and delivered the present I had been eagerly anticipating. For nearly half my life I've been dreaming of reaching the polar environments, and now a plane had a seat for me. Finally we got confirmation that - if the weather holds - we'll fly out early tomorrow morning."

Posted by Keith Cowing at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)