Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies Project: Second Year

Glass, B.; Dávila, Alfonso F.; Parro, Vı́ctor; Quinn, R. C.; Willis, Peter A.; Brinckherhoff, W.; Zacny, K.; DiRuggiero, Jocelyne; Williams, Meredith; Fong, Terry; Bergman, D.; Stucky, T.; Seitz, S. J.; Paulsen, G.; McKay, C.; Stoker, C.

doi:10.1061/9780784481899.034

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…Halite pinnacles form around the edges of the polygons that can extend up to 10–20 cm above the surface (see Fig. 3A in Glass et al ., 2023 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Even with the extra time needed to free the jam, only 3.5 h of drill operations were required to accomplish drilling and sample collection in this hole. Drilling and sample delivery together typically required less than 30 min of operation time for each sample delivered to instruments (Glass et al ., 2021 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1 ) was chosen by the remote science team (RST) that supported the mission operation by examining satellite images of candidate sites displayed in Google Earth. The chosen site is located at −24.101642° latitude and −70.138175° longitude situated 67 km from the city of Antofagasta Chile and 22.4 km from the Yungay field camp in use by ARADS since 2014 (Glass et al ., 2023 ). The ARADS team had not previously performed drilling or sample analysis in this area and chose it to perform an end-to-end blind-test of a mission-like rover carrying a 1 meter (1-m) drill and instrumentation to search for biomolecular evidence of life as both are relevant to future Mars missions.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…ARADS was a NASA PSTAR project with science, engineering, and operational objectives. A broad overview of the ARADS project is presented by Glass et al ( 2023 ). The goals of this field experiment were both scientific and operational with the desire to demonstrate the performance of the drilling, sample handling, and the life search protocols, including the analysis of samples with flight prototype onboard instruments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Mission Simulating the Search for Life on Mars with Automated Drilling, Sample Handling, and Life Detection Instruments Performed in the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert, Chile

Stoker,

Glass,

Stucky

et al. 2023

Astrobiology

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We report on a field demonstration of a rover-based drilling mission to search for biomolecular evidence of life in the arid core of the Atacama Desert, Chile. The KREX2 rover carried the Honeybee Robotics 1 m depth The Regolith and Ice Drill for Exploration of New Terrains (TRIDENT) drill and a robotic arm with scoop that delivered subsurface fines to three flight prototype instruments: (1) The Signs of Life Detector (SOLID), a protein and biomolecule analyzer based on fluorescence sandwich microarray immunoassay; (2) the Planetary In Situ Capillary Electrophoresis System (PISCES), an amino acid analyzer based on subcritical water extraction coupled to microchip electrophoresis analysis; and (3) a Wet Chemistry Laboratory cell to measure soluble ions using ion selective electrodes and chronopotentiometry. A California-based science team selected and directed drilling and sampling of three sites separated by hundreds of meters that included a light-toned basin area showing evidence of aqueous activity surrounded by a rocky desert pavement. Biosignatures were detected in basin samples collected at depths ranging from 20 to 80 cm but were not detected in the surrounding area. Subsurface stratigraphy of the units drilled was interpreted from drill sensor data as fine-scale layers of sand/clay sediments interspersed with layers of harder material in the basins and a uniform subsurface composed of course-to-fine sand in the surroundings. The mission timeline and number of commands sent to accomplish each activity were tracked. The deepest sample collected (80 cm) required 55 commands, including drilling and delivery to three instruments. Elapsed time required for drilling and sample handling was less than 3 hours to collect sample from 72 cm depth, including time devoted to recovery from a jammed drill. The experiment demonstrated drilling, sample transfer technologies, and instruments that accomplished successful detection of biomolecular evidence of life in one of the most biologically sparse environments on Earth.

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“…Halite pinnacles form around the edges of the polygons that can extend up to 10–20 cm above the surface (see Fig. 3A in Glass et al ., 2023 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

A Mission Simulating the Search for Life on Mars with Automated Drilling, Sample Handling, and Life Detection Instruments Performed in the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert, Chile

Stoker,

Glass,

Stucky

et al. 2023

Astrobiology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The ARADS, a NASA PSTAR project (Glass et al ., 2018 ), was conceived for maturing and testing instrumentation and future in situ exploration. The 2019 ARADS field campaign conducted a field experiment with a fully integrated in situ sampling and analysis system, using the K-REX2 rover that carried a 1 m drill and a robotic arm to deliver the sample to onboard instruments, including SOLID3.1 ( Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Detection and Microbial Biomarker Profiling with Signs of Life Detector-Life Detector Chip During a Mars Drilling Simulation Campaign in the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert

Moreno-Paz,

dos Santos Severino,

Sánchez-García

et al. 2023

Astrobiology

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The low organic matter content in the hyperarid core of the Atacama Desert, together with abrupt temperature shifts and high ultraviolet radiation at its surface, makes this region one of the best terrestrial analogs of Mars and one of the best scenarios for testing instrumentation devoted to in situ planetary exploration. We have operated remotely and autonomously the SOLID-LDChip (Signs of Life Detector-Life Detector Chip), an antibody microarray-based sensor instrument, as part of a rover payload during the 2019 NASA Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies (ARADS) Mars drilling simulation campaign. A robotic arm collected drilled cuttings down to 80 cm depth and loaded SOLID to process and assay them with LDChip for searching for molecular biomarkers. A remote science team received and analyzed telemetry data and LDChip results. The data revealed the presence of microbial markers from Proteobacteria, Acidobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes, and Cyanobacteria to be relatively more abundant in the middle layer (40–50 cm). In addition, the detection of several proteins from nitrogen metabolism indicates a pivotal role in the system. These findings were corroborated and complemented on “returned samples” to the lab by a comprehensive analysis that included DNA sequencing, metaproteomics, and a metabolic reconstruction of the sampled area. Altogether, the results describe a relatively complex microbial community with members capable of nitrogen fixation and denitrification, sulfur oxidation and reduction, or triggering oxidative stress responses, among other traits. This remote operation demonstrated the high maturity of SOLID-LDChip as a powerful tool for remote in situ life detection for future missions in the Solar System.

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The progress of extraterrestrial regolith-sampling robots

Zhang

Yao

et al. 2019

Nat Astron

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Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies Project: Second Year

Cited by 7 publications

References 11 publications

A Mission Simulating the Search for Life on Mars with Automated Drilling, Sample Handling, and Life Detection Instruments Performed in the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert, Chile

A Mission Simulating the Search for Life on Mars with Automated Drilling, Sample Handling, and Life Detection Instruments Performed in the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert, Chile

Life Detection and Microbial Biomarker Profiling with Signs of Life Detector-Life Detector Chip During a Mars Drilling Simulation Campaign in the Hyperarid Core of the Atacama Desert

The progress of extraterrestrial regolith-sampling robots

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