Mars Astrobiology Field Laboratory and the Search for Signs of Life
- From: baalke@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 06 Sep 2007 15:40:44 -0700
http://view.exacttarget.com/?j=fe54157273600d7b7d13&m=ff281776736c&ls=fde61174716c017573127771&;
For immediate release
Contact: Vicki Cohn , Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., (914) 740-2100, ext.
2156,
vcohn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:vcohn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Mars Astrobiology Field Laboratory and the Search for Signs of Life
New Rochelle, NY, September 5, 2007 0 A conceptual payload and mission
scenario for the proposed NASA Mars mission known as the Astrobiology
Field Laboratory (AFL), which will be equipped to perform
state-of-the-art tests on samples collected from the martian surface
to
answer fundamental questions about life in the Universe, is described
in
a report in the August 2007 issue (Volume 7, Number 4) of
Astrobiology,
a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. The paper
is
available free online at www.liebertpub.com/ast
<http://cl.exactt.net/?
ju=fe3d157574640475751572&ls=fde61174716c017573127771&m=ff281776736c&l=fe90157871640
37972&s=fe2f137177660474771075&jb=ffcf14&t=>.
The report, titled, "A Concept for NASA's Mars 2016 Astrobiology Field
Laboratory," by coauthors Luther Beegle, Michael Wilson, Fernando
Abilleira, James Jordan, and Gregory Wilson, from the Jet Propulsion
Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology, presents the
group's analysis of candidate payload elements for the mission that
were
identified from a set of recommendations put forth by the AFL Science
Steering Group (SSG). The AFL mission strategy will be to search for
habitable zones and evidence of current or previous life forms by
"following the water" and "finding the carbon."
NASA's AFL mission, which could launch as early as 2016, would follow
a
series of planned missions to Mars (scheduled for 2007, 2009, 2011,
and
2013) that will lay the groundwork for implementation of the
laboratory
and begin the process of collecting samples from the planet for future
analysis and sample return.
"Instruments designed for the AFL mission will enable real time
analysis
of possible biosignatures on Mars and reveal whether there were (or
are)
habitable zones and life," says journal Editor, Sherry L. Cady, Ph.D.,
Associate Professor in the Department of Geology at Portland State
University. "The conceptual Precision Sample Processing and Handling
System proposed by Beegle and coauthors for AFL is a significant step
toward development of the technology and cutting-edge instrumentation
needed to succeed on Mars."
Astrobiology is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published
bimonthly in print and online. The Journal provides a forum for
scientists seeking to advance our understanding of life's origins,
evolution, distribution and destiny in the universe. A complete table
of
contents and a full text for this issue may be viewed online at
www.liebertpub.com/AST .
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., is a privately held, fully integrated media
company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in
many promising areas of science and biomedical research. Its
biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
(GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most
widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 60
journals, books, and news magazines is available at www.liebertpub.com
.
- Prev by Date: NASA Partners With Discovery Communications for 50th Anniversary
- Next by Date: Cassini Prepares to Fly by Walnut-Shaped Moon (Iapetus)
- Previous by thread: NASA Partners With Discovery Communications for 50th Anniversary
- Next by thread: Cassini Prepares to Fly by Walnut-Shaped Moon (Iapetus)
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
