[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Arctic Crater Expedition To Seek Mars Science Insights

Douglas Isbell 
Headquarters, Washington, DC                       June 16, 1998 
(Phone:  202/358-1753)

Michael Mewhinney
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 
(Phone:  650/604-3937)

Anne Watzman
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 
(Phone:  412/268-3830)

RELEASE:  98-105

ARCTIC CRATER EXPEDITION TO SEEK MARS SCIENCE 
INSIGHTS AND TEST FUTURE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES 

     NASA scientists soon will explore a barren Arctic meteorite 
impact crater to attempt to learn more about Mars and its early 
history, while testing technologies useful for future robotic and 
human exploration of the planet. 

     From June 22 to July 26, a 20-member science team from NASA and 
several other research organizations will explore the Haughton Impact 
Crater and its surroundings on Devon Island in the Arctic Circle. 

     Scientists consider the site a potential Mars analog because many 
of its geologic features, such as the crater's ice-rich terrains, its 
ancient lake sediments and nearby networks of small valleys, resemble 
those reported at the surface of Mars.  The site may shed light in 
particular on the early history of Mars, when the planet's climate may 
have been wetter and warmer. 

     "The cold, relatively dry, windy and unvegetated environment at 
the Haughton site is milder and wetter than present-day Mars, but it 
may give us an idea of what early Mars was like and how some of its 
surface features were formed," said Principal Investigator 
Dr. Pascal Lee of NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA.

     During the expedition, Dr. Omead Amidi and other engineers from 
Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, will 
conduct field tests of an experimental, robotic helicopter.  "The 
mission provides a great opportunity to demonstrate the feasibility 
and the value of robotic aircraft for mapping and surveying 
applications," Amidi said.

      Carnegie Mellon's small, 160-pound autonomous helicopter has 
vision-based stability and position control, as well as an onboard 
navigation computer, laser rangefinder and video system for site 
mapping.  More information about the unpiloted helicopter may be found 
at the following website:   
http://www.ri.cmu.edu/project/chopper 

     In addition to the tests with the autonomous helicopter, 
scientists also will conduct experiments with a ground-penetrating 
radar system, a field spectrometer, drilling equipment and a stereo 
camera. 

     The radar system will be deployed in an attempt to map ground-ice 
and other subsurface conditions within and outside the crater's 12-
mile (20-kilometer) diameter.  "The ability to find underground ice, 
both for human consumption and geologic studies, will be critical in 
the exploration of Mars," said Dr. Aaron Zent of Ames, Dr. Lee's post-
doctoral research advisor.

     Scientists will use a field spectrometer to determine the site's 
reflective qualities and better understand the crater's compositional 
evolution.  In another experiment, scientists will use a portable 
drill to obtain core samples from ten feet deep in the frozen ground.  
Core samples of sediments from a lake that once occupied the crater 
will provide information about local climate evolution.  Since the use 
of liquid drilling lubricants might be precluded on Mars, none will be 
used in this test. 

     A portable stereo camera system previously used by Carnegie 
Mellon's Nomad rover during its unprecedented 133-mile wheeled trek 
through Chile's Atacama Desert last summer will provide high-
resolution images of the site, and produce images for a 360 degree 
photo-realistic virtual reality project being developed by Ames' 
Intelligent Mechanisms Group. 

     Using laptop computer systems and "mobile workstations" developed 
by Ames' Intelligent Mobile Technologies Team, scientists will 
communicate with other field team members and send live images via a 
wireless link.  Team members will operate from a base camp on a 
terrace of the Haughton River within the crater's perimeter and 
explore the site with All-Terrain Vehicles.  Supplies will be brought 
in by Twin Otter airplane, while a helicopter will aid exploration of 
remote sites. 

     As part of the expedition's educational outreach program, the 
following website will be updated regularly with new data and images 
as available:  http://www.arctic-mars.org

     The total cost of the project is $80,000.  NASA is partially 
funding the project through a National Research Council grant.  
Additional support is provided by Ames Research Center; NASA's Johnson 
Space Center, Houston, TX; the Geological Survey of Canada; the Polar 
Continental Shelf Project of Canada; the Nunavut Research Institute, 
Canada; the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University; NovAtel 
Communications, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; and the National Geographic 
Society. 

				-end-