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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH,
VOL. 112,
G04S05,
17 PP., 2007
doi:10.1029/2006JG000283
Searching for microbial life remotely: Satellite-to-rover habitat mapping in the Atacama Desert, Chile
NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California, USA
Molecular Biosensor and Imaging Center, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Molecular Biosensor and Imaging Center, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
Planetary and Space Sciences Research Institute, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK
Molecular Biosensor and Imaging Center, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Molecular Biosensor and Imaging Center, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Molecular Biosensor and Imaging Center, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Molecular Biosensor and Imaging Center, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Molecular Biosensor and Imaging Center, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
SETI Institute, Mountain View, California, USA
Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Eventscope, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
SETI Institute, Mountain View, California, USA
Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
The Atacama Desert, one of the most arid landscapes on Earth, serves as an analog for the dry conditions on Mars and as a test bed in the search for life on other planets. During the Life in the Atacama (LITA) 2004 field experiment, satellite imagery and ground-based rover data were used in concert with a ‘follow-the-water’ exploration strategy to target regions of biological interest in two (1 coastal, 1 inland) desert study sites. Within these regions, environments were located, studied and mapped with spectroscopic and fluorescence imaging (FI) for habitats and microbial life. Habitats included aqueous sedimentary deposits (e.g., evaporites), igneous materials (e.g., basalt, ash deposits), rock outcrops, drainage channels and basins, and alluvial fans. Positive biological signatures (chlorophyll, DNA, protein) were detected at 81% of the 21 locales surveyed with the FI during the long-range, autonomous traverses totaling 30 km. FI sensitivity in detecting microbial life in extreme deserts explains the high percentage of positives despite the low actual abundance of heterotrophic soil bacteria in coastal (<1–104 CFU/g-soil) and interior (<1–102 CFU/g-soil) desert soils. Remote habitat, microbial and climate observations agreed well with ground-truth, indicating a drier and less microbially rich interior compared to the relatively wetter and abundant biology of the coastal site where rover sensors detected the presence of fog and abundant surface lichens. LITA project results underscore the importance of an explicit focus by all engineering and science disciplines on microbially relevant scales (mm to nm), and highlight the success of satellite-based and ‘follow-the-water’ strategies for locating diverse habitats of biological promise and detecting the microbial hotspots within them.
Received 3 August 2006; accepted 1 June 2007; published 29 August 2007.
Citation: (2007), Searching for microbial life remotely: Satellite-to-rover habitat mapping in the Atacama Desert, Chile, J. Geophys. Res., 112, G04S05, doi:10.1029/2006JG000283.
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