Fieldwork

The Rio Tinto site is ideal for astrobiology research in an extreme acid environment that is a possible analog for the martian subsurface.  On both Earth and Mars, water and chemical energy could support (or could have supported) life in an acidic, anoxic environment.

Pavilion Lake is a fascinating location where underwater explorers are studying unique microbialite structures to understand their formation and evolution through time.  This research is important for astrobiology but also the methods and protocols for exploring this remote, extreme environment are used to plan for exploration of the Moon, Mars, and asteroids.

Desert-RATS is a field campaign which conducts mission rover and extravehicular activity testing in the challenging and remote terrain of Arizona. 

The Mojave Desert is a relatively inhospitable, parched, sun-drenched, desert in southern California.  This natural setting presents scientists with opportunities to study environments that are analogous to what explorers will find on the Moon and Mars. 

NASA Ames scientists have conducted multiple Mars mission simulations at the Mars Desert Research Station (MDRS) near Hanksville, Utah.  Work at MDRS focuses on a variety of topics including technology testing, scientific research (geology and astrobiology), plus the study of human and robotic exploration.

Located in northern California, Lassen National Park receives tens of meters of snow during the winter months.  Scientists have been studying the physical and environmental conditions within the snowpacks to understand snowpack evolution throughout the season. 

The summit soils of Kilimanjaro are among the most extreme on Earth in terms of their near-sterile nature, extreme freeze-thaw cycles, high ultraviolet radiation flux, low atmospheric pressure, and low nutrient content and water activity.  Despite these conditions, microbes are capable of surviving here.  Ames scientists are studying the microbiology of these Kilimanjaro soils as an analog for Mars to understand the tolerance limits of life.

FIDO is a high-fidelity terrestrial rover, the FIDO rover, that focuses on a tight coupling of engineering, science, instruments, and operations.  FIDO was operated at Silver Lake (California), Black Rock Summit (Nevada), and Grey Mountain (Arizona).

Work on Ellesmere Island has focused on astrobiology technology development of a low power, lightweight deep drill at a site of astrobiology interest. Scientific investigation focuses on micro-organisms within sandstone outcrops and the exploration of deep permafrost to understand the limits of life in cold environments.