October 27 - November 23, 2004:
Licancabur Expedition |
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Attention Students—Ask your questions!
Here's your chance to ask the science team in the field a question! Send your questions to: licancabur@shastalink.k12.ca.us . We will post select questions and answers from the scientists over the coming days…so STAY TUNED!
Note From the Expedition Lead
Mars Underwater Project is a new project supported by the NASA Astrobiology Institute, which follows our two, very successful, years of reconnaissance at Licancabur. Our reconnaissance was funded by the NASA Ames DDF and National Geographic grants (2002-2003). The scientific results obtained at Licancabur were tremendously exciting. The NAI selected our new project in 2003 to continue to support our research and allow us to learn more about this volcanic lake and several others that we will explore in the coming years. This year will be our very first NAI expedition. It will be also our farewell to Licancabur before we move on to another fascinating volcanic lake in 2005, very high too and extremely intriguing.
Believe me, our objectives for this year are very exciting and the team is well-prepared. We are on our way to do more climbing, more physiological study, more free diving at the summit lake than before, and we will acquire underwater videos at the summit lake. We will explore primitive organisms and their habitats in very shallow waters bombarded by UV radiation as they were when Earth was very young and no ozone layer had yet formed to protect life. We will also see the results of the experiments we left last year in the field.This environment is also one of the best analog to early Mars. This is why we explore it as well. It will give us critical clues to prepare future astrobiological missions to the Red Planet and search for the possibility of microbial life there.
So, stay tuned and contact us in the field via emails. Ask questions about the site, the science, the team and we will do our best to answer. Together we will explore the limits of life in some of the highest lakes on Earth!
Nathalie A. Cabrol,
Planetary Scientist
Mars Underwater Project and Expedition Lead
Moffett Field, October 23, 2004
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