[meteorite-list] Arctic Ice Microbes Suggest Mars Could Also Have Life

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue Oct 4 12:34:10 2005
Message-ID: <200510041630.j94GUWd21699_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=158014802&p=y58xy55x8

Arctic ice microbes suggest Mars could also have life
Ireland On-Line
October 4, 2005

Living microbes found in what could be 1 million-year-old ice on a
remote Arctic island support a theory the frozen planet Mars could also
sustain life, researchers said today.

An international team drilled ice core samples on the remote Svalbard
islands at the extinct Sverrefjell volcano. They said that was the only
place on Earth with the same minerals - called magnetite crystals - as
those found on a meteorite from Mars that was discovered in the
Antarctic in 1996.

"We have discovered a microbiological oasis in natural tubes of blue ice
on Svalbard. This is an extremely tough environment in which we would
not have expected to find life," said team leader Hans Amundsen, of the
University of Oslo.

Space probes sent to Mars by Nasa from the United States and by the
European Space Administration have showed evidence of water in the form
of ice on the Red Planet.

Water is a key building block for living organisms, although many
scientists believe the planet is now too cold to sustain life, a theory
the Norwegian-led team's findings could challenge.

Mars is cold and dry with large caps of frozen water at its poles.
However, it shares features with the Arctic Svalbard archipelago, such
as permafrost, volcanoes and possibly hot springs pushing water through
the frozen surface, the team said.

The team, called the Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard Expedition, began
probing the islands in 2003, taking core samples at sites that include
the ice-filled volcanic tubes of the Sverrefjell, which erupted through
thick ice about 1 million years ago.

"Such ice-filled volcanic tubes are probably also found on Mars, and
could be a refuge for life there," said the team's scientific leader,
Andrew Steele, of the Carnegie Institution in Washington.

The Svalbard Islands are about 300 miles north of the Norwegian
mainland, and are largely covered with glaciers and permafrost.

The team took core samples with specially designed sterile drills, to
avoid contamination by surface bacteria, a statement said. The living
microbes were detected in the ice by special biological sensors,
developed by Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Steele's team then used a series of instruments to determine the number
and type of microbes, partly by scanning protein microarrays, which are
created by putting molecules in specific order on a glass plate so they
can be studied by microscope.

"These protein microarrays, which will be used on board the space
shuttle in 2006, are specially designed to show any contamination by
humans. Our results show that we managed to maintain sterile
conditions," Steele said.

The samples were also studied in laboratories at Carnegie, the
Smithsonian Institution, the University of Oslo, Penn State University
in Pennsylvania and the University of Leeds.

"Microorganisms in ice are tough survivors," said Liane Benning, of the
University of Leeds. "Small ecosystems in the ice had apparently adapted
to extremely cold conditions."

The team is also developing biosensor technology that could be used to
help detect any life on Mars.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/051004_mars_like.html

Test Equipment Finds Life in Mars-like Conditions
By SPACE.com Staff
04 October 2005

In a test of equipment that might one day be used to search for
biological activity on Mars, researchers discovered life tucked deep
inside a frozen Norwegian volcano.

The test region is said to have geology similar to that of Mars.

"We tested equipment that we are developing to look for life on Mars and
discovered a rare and complex microbial community living in blue ice
vents inside a frozen volcano," Hans Amundsen of the University of Oslo
said today. "The instruments detected both living and fossilized
organisms, which is the kind of evidence we'd be searching for on the
Red Planet."

Building on previous discovery

Amundsen leads a group called the Arctic Mars Analog Svalbard
Expedition, or AMASE. Previous work by the group uncovered life in
the barren region above the Arctic Circle last year. The new discovery
involves a unique community of microbes deep within the volcano.

"Ice-filled volcanic vents, such as these, are likely to occur on Mars
and may be a potential habitat for life there," said Carnegie
Institution researcher Andrew Steele, science leader of the project.

Some scientists think life on Earth may have begun in and around
volcanoes.

The AMASE scientists found signatures of microorganisms and fossils
embedded in the volcano's ice and on surfaces and cracks of rocks.

"Our instrument, designed by scientists at the Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL),
detected minute quantities of aromatic hydrocarbons from microorganisms
and lichens present in the rocks and ice," said JPL researcher Arthur
Lonne Lane.

Keep it clean

One goal of the program was to find out if the instruments could be kept
sterile, so that they would actually detect life in the volcano rather
than fool researchers by detecting life from aboveground that only
appeared to have come from below.

The concern, with a mission to Mars, is that microorganisms from Earth
might hitch a ride and get "discovered" on Mars.

"We performed several successful tests with a miniaturized instrument
fitted with special protein microarray chips," says Steele. "Our results
showed that we were able to maintain sterile sampling procedures without
introducing contamination from humans."

The newly found terrestrial creatures are hardy.

"The organisms found in ice are survivors," said Liane Benning,
University of Leeds. "Small ecosystems in the ice have apparently
adapted to extremely cold conditions."
Received on Tue 04 Oct 2005 12:30:29 PM PDT