Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP) was a program established by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

to sponsor research projects that advance the technology and techniques used in

planetary exploration This is a timeline of Solar System exploration ordered by date of spacecraft launch. It includes: *All spacecraft that have left Earth orbit for the purposes of Discovery and exploration of the Solar System, Solar System exploration (or were la ...

. The objective was to enable the study of

astrobiology Astrobiology, and the related field of exobiology, is an interdisciplinary scientific field that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe. Astrobiology is the multidisciplinary field that investig ...

and to aid the planning of extraterrestrial exploration missions while prioritizing science, technology, and field campaigns.

Overview

ASTEP is one of four elements of NASA's Astrobiology Program, which falls under the Planetary Science Division of the Science Mission Directorate. According to the formal description from NASA, "The ASTEP program sponsors the development of technologies that enable remote searches for, and identification of, life in extreme environments, including planetary surfaces and subsurfaces."(Marinova, 2010) http://www.astrobio.net/index.php?option=com_expedition&task=detail&id=3388&type=blog&pid=19 ASTEP is concerned with discovering technologies which will enable scientists to study astrobiology both on the surface of the Earth and on extraterrestrial bodies. A central focus of ASTEP's research is terrestrial field campaigns, or long-duration expeditions where researchers live in the same region they are studying. These are conducted on Earth in remote or hostile locations, such as Antarctica or the bottom of the ocean. Through understanding complex and exotic life on Earth, such as

extremophile An extremophile (from Latin ' meaning "extreme" and Greek ' () meaning "love") is an organism that is able to live (or in some cases thrive) in extreme environments, i.e. environments that make survival challenging such as due to extreme temper ...

s, scientists hope to better define the characteristics they should look for and the locations they should seek when attempting to discover extraterrestrial life. The program was active from 2001 to 2014, when it was consolidated into the Planetary Science and Technology from Analog Research (PSTAR) program.

Methodology

ASTEP funded projects typically perform research by searching for and studying

biology in Earth's harshest environments through the use of field research campaigns. The environments where this research is conducted is meant to simulate the expected conditions on extraterrestrial worlds in the Solar System. Past field work has typically targeted two regions. Arctic and Antarctic climates simulate the low temperatures expected on many other planets such as

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

, near rover landing sites. Underwater regions are also an area of study because they simulate high pressure, low light and variable temperature conditions. This region simulates proposed missions to explore the vast liquid water ocean that is expected to reside under Jupiter's moon,

Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Cliff ...

.(German, 2009) http://www.astrobio.net/pressrelease/3287/oases-for-life-on-the-mid-caymen-rise ASTEP promotes the development of new exploration technologies and techniques that can search, identify, and study life in extreme conditions in locations that are difficult to access. There is a broad range of things that can fall into this category. Previous examples include laboratories such as the

Mars Science Laboratory Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is a robotic spacecraft, robotic space probe mission to Mars launched by NASA on November 26, 2011, which successfully landed ''Curiosity (rover), Curiosity'', a Mars rover, in Gale (crater), Gale Crater on August ...

, sampling techniques, the

Mars rovers A Mars rover is a motor vehicle designed to travel on the surface of Mars. Rovers have several advantages over stationary landers: they examine more territory, they can be directed to interesting features, they can place themselves in sunny pos ...

, the Titan lander ( Huygens), and submersibles.(Billings, Apout ASTEP, 2008) Autonomous systems are preferred because data can be collected without the presence of humans near the test area. The field campaigns are used as a proof-of-concept for the proposed technologies as well as a demonstration. They are generally tested with mock-mission where conditions and challenges simulate those that might be experienced on an actual mission. This helps identify their strengths and weaknesses in the technology's mission execution and structural endurance. Beyond the practice of new technologies, ASTEP strives to learn more about astrobiology through observation and study on the field campaigns. Analyzing the collected samples helps researchers determine the thermal, photonic, pressure, and chemical boundary conditions for living organisms. Understanding how these organisms adapt and evolve in these extreme conditions may be similar to the methods used by extraterrestrial organisms, and thus offers clues about where life may be found. Another area of study is the environmental footprint that

life leaves behind,

biomolecule A biomolecule or biological molecule is a loosely used term for molecules present in organisms that are essential to one or more typically biological processes, such as cell division, morphogenesis, or development. Biomolecules include large ...

s or

biosignature A biosignature (sometimes called chemical fossil or molecular fossil) is any substance – such as an element, isotope, or molecule – or phenomenon that provides scientific evidence of past or present life. Measurable attribute ...

s such as chemical trails, geological formations, etc. Identifying these clues often inspires new biology searching techniques, and simplifies mission planning.

Past projects

2007

*The Deep Phreatic Thermal Explorer (

DEPTHX The Deep Phreatic Thermal Explorer (DEPTHX) is an autonomous underwater vehicle designed and built by Stone Aerospace, an aerospace engineering firm based in Austin, Texas. It was designed to autonomously explore and map underwater sinkholes ...

) *The Arctic Gakkel Vents Expedition (AGAVE) *The Arctic Mars Analogue Svalbard Expedition ( AMASE) *The

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is a private, non-profit oceanographic research center in Moss Landing, California. MBARI was founded in 1987 by David Packard, and is primarily funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation ...

’s

Environmental Sample Processor The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute's (MBARI's) Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) is a "lab in a can" designed for autonomous deployment. The ESP—provides on-site (in situ) collection and analysis of water samples from the subsurface ...

(ESP)

2008

*The Environmentally Non-Disturbing Under-Ice Robotic Antarctic Explorer (

ENDURANCE Endurance (also related to sufferance, resilience, constitution, fortitude, and hardiness) is the ability of an organism to exert itself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from a ...

) *Arctic Mars Analogue Svalbard Expedition (AMASE) Sample Return *Oases for Life and Pre-Biotic Chemistry: Hydrothermal Exploration Using Advanced Underwater Robotics *IceBite: An auger and sampling system for ground ice on Mars * VALKYRIE: Very-deep Autonomous Laser-powered Kilowatt-class Yo-yoing Robotic Ice Explorer * Autonomous Exploration, Discovery, and Sampling of Life in Deep Sea Extreme Environments * Deep Drilling and Sampling Via Compact Low-Mass Rotary-Hammer Auto-Gopher * Exploration of Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Microbial Communities using the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP)

2011

The 2011 projects included: *Mars Methane Plume Tracer *Planetary Lake Lander *Shallow-Borehole Array for Measuring Greenland Emission of Trace Gases as an Analogue for Methane on Mars (GETGAMM) *VALKYRIE: Phase 2 *Robotic Investigation of Subsurface Life in the Atacama Desert

Other projects

Stromatolite Stromatolites () or stromatoliths () are layered sedimentary formations (microbialite) that are created mainly by photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria, and Pseudomonadota (formerly proteobacteria). The ...

building provides important geological information on the history of

microorganism A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

s dating back to over a billion years ago. In recent years, ASTEP has been researching how these layered fossils could have formed by studying modern day

microbial mat A microbial mat is a multi-layered sheet of microorganisms, mainly bacteria and archaea, or bacteria alone. Microbial mats grow at interfaces between different types of material, mostly on submerged or moist surfaces, but a few survive in deserts. ...

s, which leave stromatolite similar to their ancestors.(Schirber,

Astrobiology Magazine ''Astrobiology Magazine (exploring the solar system and beyond)'', or ''Astrobiology Mag'', was an American, formerly NASA-sponsored, international online popular science magazine that contained popular science content, which referred to articl ...

, 2010) http://www.astrobio.net/exclusive/3418/first-fossil-makers-in-hot-water ASTEP's instrument development program is currently working on a prototype to detect the presence of DNA on the Martian surface. The prototype will replicate any DNA found in Martian ice or regolith using

polymerase chain reaction The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a method widely used to rapidly make millions to billions of copies (complete or partial) of a specific DNA sample, allowing scientists to take a very small sample of DNA and amplify it (or a part of it) t ...

amplification techniques. The IceBite Project involves testing drills for future Martian missions where ice will need to be penetrated. The research is being conducted in high altitude Antarctic valleys which closely resemble the ''

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

'' landing site in geologic composition. As of 2009, the scientists have successfully completed the first phase of the three-year mission, which was to probe the region, install scientific instruments, and determine the future testing sites. A team of ASTEP scientists are exploring the Mid-Cayman Spreading Center, a wide ridge at the westernmost region of the Cayman Trough. Oceanic life reaches the extremes at the depths, where the pressure is the greatest and underwater sea vents pump hot and mineral-rich water into the ocean. Project researchers think

extraterrestrial life Extraterrestrial life, colloquially referred to as alien life, is life that may occur outside Earth and which did not originate on Earth. No extraterrestrial life has yet been conclusively detected, although efforts are underway. Such life might ...

could be similar to the exotic life forms found near these vents. The submersible

Nereus In Greek mythology, Nereus ( ; ) was the eldest son of Pontus (the Sea) and Gaia (the Earth), with Pontus himself being a son of Gaia. Nereus and Doris became the parents of 50 daughters (the Nereids) and a son ( Nerites), with whom Nereus liv ...

was developed by ASTEP to autonomously survey the hydrothermal vent systems at the depths of the Mid-Cayman Spreading Center.

Publicity

In order to raise awareness about the research being conducted under the auspices of ASTEP, scientists have been increasingly using blogs as a way to convey information about their studies, typically when they are performing science at a remote location on a terrestrial field test. Scientists have also begun contacting museums via satellite uplink to discuss astrobiology with the public. The most prominent blog is produced by NASA's IceBite team, which performs annual expeditions to Antarctica.

References

Works cited

#Billings, L. (2008, 01 22). About ASTEP. Retrieved from Astrobiology: https://web.archive.org/web/20100528091403/http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/astep/about/ #Billings, L. (2008, 02 06). NASA Astrobiology Roadmap 2008. Retrieved from Astrobiology: https://web.archive.org/web/20100219093302/http://astrobiology.nasa.gov/roadmap/ #Commodore, J. (2010, 02). NRA Proposers Guidebook - Final. Retrieved from NASA: http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/procurement/nraguidebook/ #German, C. (2009, 10 21).

. Retrieved from Oases for Life on the Mid-Caymen Rise: http://www.astrobio.net/pressrelease/3287/oases-for-life-on-the-mid-caymen-rise #Marinova, M. (2010, 02 01).

. Retrieved from IceBite Blog: Saying Farewell to a Frozen World: http://www.astrobio.net/index.php?option=com_expedition&task=detail&id=3388&type=blog&pid=19 #Peter Doran, P. C. (2010). RESULTS FROM ASTEP AND OTHER ASTROBIOLOGY FIELD CAMPAIGNS II. #Schirber, M. (2010, 01 03).

. Retrieved from First Fossil-Makers in Hot Water: http://www.astrobio.net/exclusive/3418/first-fossil-makers-in-hot-water #Schirber, M. (2010, 02 15).

. Retrieved from Detecting Our Martian Cousins: http://www.astrobio.net/exclusive/3401/detecting-our-martian-cousins {{DEFAULTSORT:Astrobiology Science And Technology For Exploring Planets (Astep) Astrobiology NASA programs