This magazine article features an interview with Mars Analog Research and Technology Experiment (MARTE) scientist Carol Stoker. In this third session of the four-part series, Stoker describes how the MARTE team avoids contaminating their drill-core samples. Her team is drilling into the pyrite subsurface of Spain's Rio Tinto in search for microbes existing in an iron-sulfur-based energy system, similar to that of Mars. She describes the technical challenges to be faced in the waterless environment of other-world drilling. The resource includes images from the Mars rover project, links to related web sites, and an MP3 Audio Machine text-to-speech option.
This resource is referenced here:Subject:
Biology:Ecology:Metabolism,
Biology:Astrobiology,
Microbiology,
Geoscience:Hydrology
Resource Type:
Scientific Resources:Overview/Reference Work
Grade Level: Graduate/Professional, College Upper (15-16), College Lower (13-14), High School (9-12)
Extreme Environments: Extremely Cold, Acidic
Topics:
Biosphere:Astrobiology,
Microbiology, Hydrosphere/Cryosphere,
Biosphere:Ecology:Habitats
Keywords: Sterile drilling, contamination tracers
