The BASALT Research Program: Designing and Developing Mission Elements in Support of Human Scientific Exploration of Mars.

Abstract:

:The articles associated with this Special Collection focus on the NASA BASALT (Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains) Research Program, which aims at answering the question, "How do we support and enable scientific exploration during human Mars missions?" To answer this the BASALT team conducted scientific field studies under simulated Mars mission conditions to both broaden our understanding of the habitability potential of basalt-rich terrains on Mars and examine the effects of science on current Mars mission concepts of operations. This article provides an overview of the BASALT research project, from the science, to the operational concepts that were tested and developed, to the technical capabilities that supported all elements of the team's research. Further, this article introduces the 12 articles that are included in this Special Collection.

journal_name

Astrobiology

journal_title

Astrobiology

authors

Lim DSS,Abercromby AFJ,Kobs Nawotniak SE,Lees DS,Miller MJ,Brady AL,Miller MJ,Mirmalek Z,Sehlke A,Payler SJ,Stevens AH,Haberle CW,Beaton KH,Chappell SP,Hughes SS,Cockell CS,Elphic RC,Downs MT,Heldmann JL

doi

10.1089/ast.2018.1869

subject

Has Abstract

pub_date

2019-03-01 00:00:00

pages

245-259

issue

3

eissn

1531-1074

issn

1557-8070

journal_volume

19

pub_type

  • The temporal aspect of the drake equation and SETI.

    abstract::We critically investigate some evolutionary aspects of the famous Drake equation, which is usually presented as the central guide for research on extraterrestrial intelligence. It is shown that the Drake equation tacitly relies on unverified assumptions on both the physicochemical history of our galaxy and the propert...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/153110704323175160

    authors: Cirković MM

    更新日期:2004-07-01 00:00:00

  • Microbial Morphology and Motility as Biosignatures for Outer Planet Missions.

    abstract::Meaningful motion is an unambiguous biosignature, but because life in the Solar System is most likely to be microbial, the question is whether such motion may be detected effectively on the micrometer scale. Recent results on microbial motility in various Earth environments have provided insight into the physics and b...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章,评审

    doi:10.1089/ast.2015.1376

    authors: Nadeau J,Lindensmith C,Deming JW,Fernandez VI,Stocker R

    更新日期:2016-10-01 00:00:00

  • Capillary electrophoresis analysis of organic amines and amino acids in saline and acidic samples using the Mars organic analyzer.

    abstract::The Mars Organic Analyzer (MOA) has enabled the sensitive detection of amino acid and amine biomarkers in laboratory standards and in a variety of field sample tests. However, the MOA is challenged when samples are extremely acidic and saline or contain polyvalent cations. Here, we have optimized the MOA analysis, sam...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2009.0357

    authors: Stockton AM,Chiesl TN,Lowenstein TK,Amashukeli X,Grunthaner F,Mathies RA

    更新日期:2009-11-01 00:00:00

  • Lichens survive in space: results from the 2005 LICHENS experiment.

    abstract::This experiment was aimed at establishing, for the first time, the survival capability of lichens exposed to space conditions. In particular, the damaging effect of various wavelengths of extraterrestrial solar UV radiation was studied. The lichens used were the bipolar species Rhizocarpon geographicum and Xanthoria e...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2006.0046

    authors: Sancho LG,de la Torre R,Horneck G,Ascaso C,de Los Rios A,Pintado A,Wierzchos J,Schuster M

    更新日期:2007-06-01 00:00:00

  • Modeling Repeated M Dwarf Flaring at an Earth-like Planet in the Habitable Zone: Atmospheric Effects for an Unmagnetized Planet.

    abstract::Understanding the impact of active M dwarf stars on the atmospheric equilibrium and surface conditions of a habitable zone Earth-like planet is key to assessing M dwarf planet habitability. Previous modeling of the impact of electromagnetic (EM) radiation and protons from a single large flare on an Earth-like atmosphe...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2017.1794

    authors: Tilley MA,Segura A,Meadows V,Hawley S,Davenport J

    更新日期:2019-01-01 00:00:00

  • Understanding microbialite morphology using a comprehensive suite of three-dimensional analysis tools.

    abstract::Microbialites can have complex morphologies that preserve clues to ancient microbial ecology. However, extracting and interpreting these clues is challenging due to both the complexity of microbial structures and the difficulties of connecting morphology to microbial processes. Fenestrate microbialites from the 2521±3...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2010.0560

    authors: Stevens EW,Sumner DY,Harwood CL,Crutchfield JP,Hamann B,Kreylos O,Puckett E,Senge P

    更新日期:2011-07-01 00:00:00

  • Team Processes and Outcomes During the AMADEE-18 Mars Analog Mission.

    abstract::The aim of this study was to examine team functioning within the context of the AMADEE 18 Mars analog project, which took place in Oman in the winter of 2018. Five "Analog Astronauts" participated in this study. Each completed measures of individual-level variables, including demographics and personality, before the s...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2019.2035

    authors: McMenamin J,Allen NJ,Battler M

    更新日期:2020-11-01 00:00:00

  • Thermal Heads for Melt Drilling to Subglacial Lakes: Design and Testing.

    abstract::Antarctic subglacial lakes are often considered suitable analogues to extraterrestrial subglacial aqueous environments. Recently, an environmentally friendly RECoverable Autonomous Sonde (RECAS) was designed at the Polar Research Center of Jilin University (JLU) to sample the water of subglacial lakes without contamin...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2019.2103

    authors: Li Y,Talalay PG,Sysoev MA,Zagorodnov VS,Li X,Fan X

    更新日期:2020-01-01 00:00:00

  • Constraints on the Metabolic Activity of Microorganisms in Atacama Surface Soils Inferred from Refractory Biomarkers: Implications for Martian Habitability and Biomarker Detection.

    abstract::Dryness is one of the main environmental challenges to microbial survival. Understanding the threshold of microbial tolerance to extreme dryness is relevant to better constrain the environmental limits of life on Earth and critically evaluate long-term habitability models of Mars. Biomolecular proxies for microbial ad...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2017.1705

    authors: Wilhelm MB,Davila AF,Parenteau MN,Jahnke LL,Abate M,Cooper G,Kelly ET,Parro García V,Villadangos MG,Blanco Y,Glass B,Wray JJ,Eigenbrode JL,Summons RE,Warren-Rhodes K

    更新日期:2018-07-01 00:00:00

  • Topological biosignatures: large-scale structure of chemical networks from biology and astrochemistry.

    abstract::The chemical basis of life involves more than simply the presence of biological molecules; biochemical systems embody a complex network of reactions with characteristic topological features. At the same time, chemical complexity is also present in nonbiological contexts, inviting us to clarify the relationship between...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2011.0674

    authors: Jolley C,Douglas T

    更新日期:2012-01-01 00:00:00

  • Free-radical chemistry as a means to evaluate lunar dust health hazard in view of future missions to the moon.

    abstract::Lunar dust toxicity has to be evaluated in view of future manned missions to the Moon. Previous studies on lunar specimens and simulated dusts have revealed an oxidant activity assigned to HO· release. However, the mechanisms behind the reactivity of lunar dust are still quite unclear at the molecular level. In the pr...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2014.1216

    authors: Turci F,Corazzari I,Alberto G,Martra G,Fubini B

    更新日期:2015-05-01 00:00:00

  • Spectral signatures of photosynthesis. II. Coevolution with other stars and the atmosphere on extrasolar worlds.

    abstract::As photosynthesis on Earth produces the primary signatures of life that can be detected astronomically at the global scale, a strong focus of the search for extrasolar life will be photosynthesis, particularly photosynthesis that has evolved with a different parent star. We take previously simulated planetary atmosphe...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章,评审

    doi:10.1089/ast.2006.0108

    authors: Kiang NY,Segura A,Tinetti G,Govindjee,Blankenship RE,Cohen M,Siefert J,Crisp D,Meadows VS

    更新日期:2007-02-01 00:00:00

  • Searching for life on Mars: degradation of surfactant solutions used in organic extraction experiments.

    abstract::Life-detection instruments on future Mars missions may use surfactant solutions to extract organic matter from samples of martian rocks. The thermal and radiation environments of space and Mars are capable of degrading these solutions, thereby reducing their ability to dissolve organic species. Successful extraction a...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2013.1105

    authors: Court RW,Sims MR,Cullen DC,Sephton MA

    更新日期:2014-09-01 00:00:00

  • Design, fabrication, and test of a hydrothermal reactor for origin-of-life experiments.

    abstract::We describe a continuous high-pressure flow reactor designed to simulate the unforced convective interaction of hydrothermal solutions and ocean waters with submarine crust on early Earth-conditions appropriate to those that may have led to the onset of life. The experimental operating conditions are appropriate for i...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2009.0456

    authors: Mielke RE,Russell MJ,Wilson PR,McGlynn SE,Coleman M,Kidd R,Kanik I

    更新日期:2010-10-01 00:00:00

  • Field trial of a dual-wavelength fluorescent emission (L.I.F.E.) instrument and the Magma White rover during the MARS2013 Mars analog mission.

    abstract::Abstract We have developed a portable dual-wavelength laser fluorescence spectrometer as part of a multi-instrument optical probe to characterize mineral, organic, and microbial species in extreme environments. Operating at 405 and 532 nm, the instrument was originally designed for use by human explorers to produce a ...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2013.1081

    authors: Groemer G,Sattler B,Weisleitner K,Hunger L,Kohstall C,Frisch A,Józefowicz M,Meszyński S,Storrie-Lombardi M,Bothe C,Boyd A,Dinkelaker A,Dissertori M,Fasching D,Fischer M,Föger D,Foresta L,Frischauf N,Fritsch L,Fuchs

    更新日期:2014-05-01 00:00:00

  • Identification and Characterization of Early Mission Phase Microorganisms Residing on the Mars Science Laboratory and Assessment of Their Potential to Survive Mars-like Conditions.

    abstract::Planetary protection is governed by the Outer Space Treaty and includes the practice of protecting planetary bodies from contamination by Earth life. Although studies are constantly expanding our knowledge about life in extreme environments, it is still unclear what the probability is for terrestrial organisms to surv...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2015.1417

    authors: Smith SA,Benardini JN 3rd,Anderl D,Ford M,Wear E,Schrader M,Schubert W,DeVeaux L,Paszczynski A,Childers SE

    更新日期:2017-03-01 00:00:00

  • Fullerene Radiolysis in Astrophysical Ice Analogs: A Mass Spectrometric Study of the Products.

    abstract::The γ-radiolysis of fullerenes (C60 and C70) was performed to investigate the role of fullerenes as a carbon source in building organic molecules in astrophysical ice analog media. Mass spectrometric analyses and the sequential collision-induced dissociation processes enabled us to determine the plausible chemical str...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2018.1905

    authors: Ursini O,Angelini G,Cataldo F,Iglesias-Groth S

    更新日期:2019-07-01 00:00:00

  • Common freshwater cyanobacteria grow in 100% CO2.

    abstract::Cyanobacteria and similar organisms produced most of the oxygen found in Earth's atmosphere, which implies that early photosynthetic organisms would have lived in an atmosphere that was rich in CO2 and poor in O2. We investigated the tolerance of several cyanobacteria to very high (>20 kPa) concentrations of atmospher...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2005.5.66

    authors: Thomas DJ,Sullivan SL,Price AL,Zimmerman SM

    更新日期:2005-02-01 00:00:00

  • Interplanetary transfer of photosynthesis: an experimental demonstration of a selective dispersal filter in planetary island biogeography.

    abstract::We launched a cryptoendolithic habitat, made of a gneissic impactite inoculated with Chroococcidiopsis sp., into Earth orbit. After orbiting the Earth for 16 days, the rock entered the Earth's atmosphere and was recovered in Kazakhstan. The heat of entry ablated and heated the rock to a temperature well above the uppe...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2006.0038

    authors: Cockell CS,Brack A,Wynn-Williams DD,Baglioni P,Brandstätter F,Demets R,Edwards HG,Gronstal AL,Kurat G,Lee P,Osinski GR,Pearce DA,Pillinger JM,Roten CA,Sancisi-Frey S

    更新日期:2007-02-01 00:00:00

  • Earth Without Life: A Systems Model of a Global Abiotic Nitrogen Cycle.

    abstract::Nitrogen is the major component of Earth's atmosphere and plays important roles in biochemistry. Biological systems have evolved a variety of mechanisms for fixing and recycling environmental nitrogen sources, which links them tightly with terrestrial nitrogen reservoirs. However, prior to the emergence of biology, al...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2017.1700

    authors: Laneuville M,Kameya M,Cleaves HJ 2nd

    更新日期:2018-07-01 00:00:00

  • The PROCESS experiment: amino and carboxylic acids under Mars-like surface UV radiation conditions in low-earth orbit.

    abstract::The search for organic molecules at the surface of Mars is a top priority of the next Mars exploration space missions: Mars Science Laboratory (NASA) and ExoMars (ESA). The detection of organic matter could provide information about the presence of a prebiotic chemistry or even biological activity on this planet. Ther...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2011.0756

    authors: Noblet A,Stalport F,Guan YY,Poch O,Coll P,Szopa C,Cloix M,Macari F,Raulin F,Chaput D,Cottin H

    更新日期:2012-05-01 00:00:00

  • Microterracettes in Sabkha Oum Dba (Western Sahara, Morocco): Physical and Biological Interactions in the Formation of a Surface Micromorphology.

    abstract::Small-scale terracing (microterracettes) is a surface geomorphic feature that recurs under a range of environmental settings, such as those existing in high to low temperature geothermal springs and evaporitic environments, through the single or combined action of physicochemical agents and microbiological processes. ...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2017.1646

    authors: Barbieri R,Cavalazzi B

    更新日期:2018-10-01 00:00:00

  • A search for optical beacons: implications of null results.

    abstract::Over the past few years a series of searches for interstellar radio beacons have taken place using the Parkes radio telescope. Here we report hitherto unpublished results from a search for optical beacons from 60 solar-type stars using the Perth-Lowell telescope. We discuss the significance of the null results from th...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/153110702762027880

    authors: Blair DG,Zadnik MG

    更新日期:2002-10-01 00:00:00

  • Biologically Available Chemical Energy in the Temperate but Uninhabitable Venusian Cloud Layer: What Do We Want to Know?

    abstract::The cloud layer has been hypothesized to be the most habitable region of Venus. In the lower clouds, both temperature and pressure fall within bounds that support reproduction of microbial life on Earth, although the water activity of the sulfuric acid cloud droplets makes the clouds uninhabitable to known life. In th...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2020.2280

    authors: Cockell CS,Higgins PM,Johnstone AA

    更新日期:2021-01-19 00:00:00

  • Comparing the evidence relevant to impact and flood basalt at times of major mass extinctions.

    abstract::The five major mass extinctions identified in 1982 by Raup and Sepkoski have expanded to six, with the suggestion that the Permian-Triassic extinction was a double event. Is there a general explanation for great mass extinctions, or can they result from different triggers, or even from internal system instabilities? T...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/153110703321632480

    authors: Alvarez W

    更新日期:2003-04-01 00:00:00

  • Terahertz circular dichroism spectroscopy: a potential approach to the in situ detection of life's metabolic and genetic machinery.

    abstract::We propose a terahertz (far-infrared) circular dichroism-based life-detection technology that may provide a universal and unequivocal spectroscopic signature of living systems regardless of their genesis. We argue that, irrespective of the specifics of their chemistry, all life forms will employ well-structured, chira...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/153110703322610609

    authors: Xu J,Ramian GJ,Galan JF,Savvidis PG,Scopatz AM,Birge RR,Allen SJ,Plaxco KW

    更新日期:2003-10-01 00:00:00

  • Extreme water loss and abiotic O2 buildup on planets throughout the habitable zones of M dwarfs.

    abstract::We show that terrestrial planets in the habitable zones of M dwarfs older than ∼1 Gyr could have been in runaway greenhouses for several hundred million years following their formation due to the star's extended pre-main sequence phase, provided they form with abundant surface water. Such prolonged runaway greenhouses...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2014.1231

    authors: Luger R,Barnes R

    更新日期:2015-02-01 00:00:00

  • Capture of terrestrial-sized moons by gas giant planets.

    abstract::Terrestrial moons with masses >0.1 M (symbol in text) possibly exist around extrasolar giant planets, and here we consider the energetics of how they might form. Binary-exchange capture can occur if a binary-terrestrial object (BTO) is tidally disrupted during a close encounter with a giant planet and one of the binar...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2012.0892

    authors: Williams DM

    更新日期:2013-04-01 00:00:00

  • A possible prebiotic origin on volcanic islands of oligopyrrole-type photopigments and electron transfer cofactors.

    abstract::Tetrapyrroles are essential to basic biochemical processes such as electron transfer and photosynthesis. However, it is not known whether these evolutionary old molecules have a prebiotic origin. We have serendipitously obtained pyrroles, which are the corresponding monomers, in laboratory experiments that simulated t...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2012.0934

    authors: Fox S,Strasdeit H

    更新日期:2013-06-01 00:00:00

  • Raman imagery: a new approach to assess the geochemical maturity and biogenicity of permineralized precambrian fossils.

    abstract::Laser-Raman imagery is a non-intrusive, non-destructive analytical technique, recently introduced to Precambrian paleobiology, that can be used to demonstrate a one-to-one spatial correlation between the optically discernible morphology and kerogenous composition of permineralized fossil microorganisms. Made possible ...

    journal_title:Astrobiology

    pub_type: 杂志文章

    doi:10.1089/ast.2005.5.333

    authors: Schopf JW,Kudryavtsev AB,Agresti DG,Czaja AD,Wdowiak TJ

    更新日期:2005-06-01 00:00:00