Life in the Atacama Project Workshop

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Life in the AtacamaProject Workshop

• Science Objectives and InvestigationJuly 28-30,
  2003
• Nathalie A. CabrolNASA Ames

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How do we Perceive the World through Hyperion ?

• Is the payload right? (Improve/drastic changes)
• Ability at finding life
• Ability at finding and characterizing habitats
• Ability at capturing transitions and subtle
  changes in habitats
• Are the science exploration strategies adequate?
• (Very) preliminary observations
• Goals reached
• Go beyond our mindsets!
• Bio I want white rocks (the tree hiding the
  forest.
• I want an image of that hill! (to know what it
  is a spectra could have been acquired from
  distance instead and composition known.
• We need to make sure that our strategies will
  allow to limit the weight of mindsets on overall
  results.

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Summary of Presented Material

• Overall Science Goals
• Review of Science Questions and Methods
• Science Payload
• Science Activities since 12/02
• Remote Science Operations FY03 Framework
• FY03 Science Objectives and Exploration
  Strategies Tested during the Field Campaign
• Post Field Experiment Science Activities

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Overall Science Goals

• A real science question on Earth with critical
  applications to Mars
• Understand the Atacama as a habitat for life
• Document the limits of life on Earth
• Test the capacity of a science payload to detect
  and characterize life in one of the most desertic
  environments of Earth for application to the
  exploration of Mars
• Test astrobiological exploration strategies and
  train science teams to benefit future Mars
  missions. remote science
• Test astrobiological exploration strategies for
  the exploration of extreme terrestrial
  environments. telepresence
• Make genuine discoveries and contribute to the
  body of knowledge about the Atacama and life in
  terrestrial extreme environments.

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Science Method and Questions

• Unambiguous Signature of Life?
• Goal Establish in situ the presence of life
• No speculation
• Converging evidence from instruments data
• Is unambiguous realistic? Increasing the
  probability of detecting life signature?
• Map Habitats (morphology, geology, mineralogy,
  texture, physical and elemental properties of
  rock and soil)
• Document how life modifies its environment
  (geo-bio)
• Derive survival strategies
• Develop science protocols on what should
  constitute a life discovery claim
  (extinct/extant)
• Identify biosignatures (and life geosignatures)

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Science Payload
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Science Activity since 12/02
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First Campaign Remote Science

• Location NASA Ames Research Center
• Science Ops Room in Space Science Division
• SST Computer rooms 1 station in the science
  ops room and 3 laptops computer projector.
• Pre-Mission Data Set
• ASTER Orbital image (pre-mission)
• DEM from orbital image GPS points

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Orbital Images ASTER
Resolution relevant to Mars Express

• Used for
• Context
• pre-mssion
• mission
• Base Mapping
• Topography (DEM)

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First Campaign Remote Science

• Data from the field during Mission
• Imagery (visible) SPI (PanCam equivalent)
• Microscopic Images Fluo Dyes
• Some Vis/NIR spectra (ground)
• Environmental data
• Post-Mission Data
• Vis/NIR set of samples spectra
• Hyperion Orbiter spectral imagery (post-mission)
• Data stored on Science Ops. Website (_at_CMU)

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High-Resolution Imagery/SPI
Resolution Equivalent MER PanCam

• Detailed science interpretation
• Used for geology and biology
• Data Products
• High-res. single images
• Mosaics
• Panoramas

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SPI/Mosaic and Panoramas

• Color adjustments needed at the beginning of the
  mission. Inproved after. Panorama were most of
  the time of excellent quality.
• Camera alignment problematic. Was visible when
  trying to build anaglyphs

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Example Derived Products Anaglyphs 3D world for
SPIYr2 MI?
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Biology Microscopy and Fluorescence
vis
530-570
450-660
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First Campaign Framework

• Component testing ?
• Limited integration of science instruments
• SPI, EnviS onboard
• Vis/NIR, Fluor. Microscope in the field
• XRD/XRF at Ames for further sample anal.
• Limited Remote Science Team
• 2 geologists, 2 biologists, 2 mineralogists
  (consultants), 2 support data managers.
• Science Team with limited to no experience in
  rover field experiment (1 exception). On purpose
  

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First Campaign Framework

• Field Science Team Instruments Support
• Jeff Moersch, Alan Waggoner, Guillermo Chong
• No Limit on Bandwidth
• Focus on testing exploration strategies
• Implications
• Strategies immediately applicable to terrestrial
  exploration
• Strategies need to be now calibrated and scaled
  for Mars (bandwidth/communications) Real mission
  sols number?
• Data came through emails and web
• Pan/image Processing via CMU

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First Campaign Framework)

• Limited Communications
• Simulation of Orbital Pass (1 uplink and 1
  downlink/day)
• Eventscope tools use beyond E/PO
• Support Science Team Data Analysis
• Need to explore promising potential unraveled
  during the mission (e.g., triangulation,
  embedding information in pans, etc.)
• Importance to use Mars missions tools
  (discussed on Wednesday).

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Year 1 Exploration Strategies (1)

• How to obtain a comprehensive understanding of
  life and habitat?
• Random Sampling (large-scale mapping)
• Along a traverse from A to B, rover stops every
  determined n-meters, deploys a set number of
  instruments and always acquire same type of data
  (e.g., 1 mosaic Vis/NIR spectra microscopic
  image)
• Efficient way of mapping fast
• Good statistical chance of discovery. Need a way
  to call home if discovery or to develop methods
  of finding our way back to the find if rover
  continues and only calls at set times. Dvlpt
• Directly applicable to remote-sensing
  terrestrial astrobiology. Bandwith constraints
  for Mars. Adpt

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Year 1 Exploration Strategies (2)

• Random Sampling (large-scale mapping, cont.)
• Maybe too large scale to grasp the fine-scale
  changes of habitats as observed in the
  Atacama/Mars.
• That could make the difference between finding
  life or not
• Or will allow to find life (good statistical
  coverage) but will not allow to understand subtle
  changes in habitats.
• What is important at this stage? Finding Life!
  So, this is a valid search strategy for Mars.
• It must be used as an exploratory mode. Great
  tool for developing background information on a
  site.

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Year 1 Exploration Strategies (3)

• Targeted Sampling
• Thorough investigation of science targets of
  interest identified in the scene.
• Similar to what is currently used (MPF/MER)
  However, payload differs
• Allows a reasoned search
• Time consuming (approach, positioning). Time
  spent there is not used to cover ground and learn
  more environment.
• However, excellent tool to obtain
  high-resolution information on specific
  important targets compared to Random Sampling.
• Not an exploratory mode in the broad sense. It is
  an in-depth analysis tool.
• Convey all the good and bad of current Mars
  exploration

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Year 1 Science Numbers
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Post Field Experiment Science Activities

• Extended Mission Data Analysis
• May to July 28th
• Addition of Vis/NIR spectra
• Hyperion Orbital imagery
• Remote Science Team Year 1 Final Report
• Assessment of Science Interpretation Success
  Rate
• November 2003 Site Selection Year 2 Campaign