NASA’s IceBite Prepares for Mars in Antarctica’s Dry Valleys
16.11.2010 - Atmosphere & Space, Land & Geology, Flora & Fauna, Antarctic
Looking for sites on Mars with the conditions for life, NASA scientists found the shallow subsurface at the Phoenix landing site in the arctic northern plains of Mars an ideal candidate for a follow-up mission to look for signs of life.
In order to develop the technology and prepare for a return mission to the Red Planet, NASA’s IceBite team has started to explore Antarctica’s Dry Valleys. In their eyes, these valleys are unique because of the dry permafrost, a condition which recreates the conditions on Mars and features ice-cemented ground on top of which lies dry soil.
Following up on last year’s reconnaissance, during which they installed a series of weather stations to monitor conditions during the Antarctic winter, the team returned to test IceBreaker, a rotary-percussive drill optimized for the frigid, near-vacuum conditions on Mars with the ability of drilling up to a meter into the ice and frozen soil, while taking samples to the surface for further analysis.
In addition to the tests, the team will focus on mapping the depth of the subsurface ice in the Dry Valleys.
