Scientists fear Curiosity rover drill bits could contaminate Mars

Christian Science Monitor ^ | 9-10-2012 | Louis Sahagun

[servo1969]

For all the hopes NASA has pinned on the rover it deposited on Mars last month, one wish has gone unspoken: Please don’t find water.

Scientists don’t believe they will. They chose the cold, dry equatorial landing site in Mars’ Gale Crater for its geology, not its prospects for harboring water or ice, which exist elsewhere on the planet.

But if by chance the rover Curiosity does find water, a controversy that has simmered at NASA for nearly a year will burst into the open. Curiosity’s drill bits may be contaminated with Earth microbes. If they are, and if those bits touch water, the organisms could survive.

The possible contamination of the drill bits occurred six months before the rover’s launch last Nov. 26. The bits had been sterilized inside a box to be opened only after Curiosity landed on Mars.

But that changed after engineers grew concerned that a rough landing could damage the rover and the drill mechanism. They decided to open the box and mount one bit in the drill as a hedge to ensure success of one of the most promising scientific tools aboard Curiosity. The drill is to bore into rocks looking for clues that life could have existed on the planet. Even if a damaged mechanism couldn’t load a drill bit, at least the rover would have one ready to go.

-snip-

Conley’s predecessor at NASA, John D. Rummel, a professor of biology at East Carolina University, said, partly in jest: “It will be a sad day for NASA if they do detect ice or water. That’s because the Curiosity project will most likely be told, ‘Gee, that’s nice. Now turn around.’ “

[GeronL]

Yep. I bet the Russians never cared about that stuff.

[blueunicorn6]

I had a Martian prom date.....she had three of them......eyes I mean....

[circlecity]

"In future, they will be."

Mars is a big planet. There will plenty of places left for that future research.

[GladesGuru]

The Invasive Species regulations and a “swarm of AgencyPersons” will soon “eat out the substance” of those critters.

[blueunicorn6]

ATTENTION ALL EARTHLINGS! KNEEL TO RECEIVE A MESSAGE FROM MARTIAN COMMANDER GELSNOT - You have invaded our planet and shot lasers at our rocks and now you plan to use a sharp instrument upon us. Cease immediately! As terms of your surrender, you will send us Hostess Ding-Dongs and salsa! Oh, and DVDs of your ruler Barney the purple dinosaur. You may now return to your banal existence.

[floralamiss]

I’m sorry, but do you ever think past the end of your nose? Are you in uncharted territory out there?

[fso301]

Earth organisms that can survive space?

Some bacteria are really tough. I the bacteria is embedded in a rock or chunk of ice I believe they can survive. However, I tend to doubt they could survive direct exposure to cosmic radiation.

Do you really think those organisms can survive on Mars?

My understanding is that on the surface of mars, it would be unlikely that bacteria could survive due to being bombarded by cosmic radiation. Below the surface, they could survive.

[circlecity]

I’m in the territory where when someone responds with an insult I assume they couldn’t articulate a coherent response to point made.

[OrioleFan]

Who’d a thunk it - the Martians have a EPA equipped with a bunch of job-killing regulations.

[GeronL]

Thanks.

[verum ago]

Earth organisms that can survive space?

Do you really think those organisms can survive on Mars?

Yes, an yes, actually. Recent experiments have shown that some microbial communities adapted to low temperatures, high altitude, and living inside rocks can survive space exposure long enough to reach Mars- they were stuck outside the International Space Station for 1.5 years.

Even more impressive was an experiment earlier this year where a group took some high altitude lichens and exposed them to the surface conditions of Mars (atmospheric composition, atmospheric pressure, temperature, and radiation) for 34 days. The lichena survived in cracks and crevices and actually carried on photosynthesis just fine.

The research is done by Jean-Pierre Paul de Vera at the German Aerospace Center for Experimental Planetary physics.

Tardigrades (small animals) have been stuck out in space in experiments and survived too. Some organisms are incredibly tough.

[verum ago]

see post 31 :)

[GeronL]

interesting

so they are probably ALREADY on Mars then

[fso301]

Thanks. So, they can survive direct exposure to cosmic radiation?

[GeronL]

Sure apparently some microbes, I’m not which ones or if those would be important, seem to have been proven to survive in space. If that is true then Mars has very likely already been exposed to these microbes from Earth.

So drill, baby, drill

heh

[Babashane]

I can’t imagine why I should care. Is Mars going to sue us? Sic it’s MEPA on us (Mars Environmental Protection Agency)

[verum ago]

Thanks. So, they can survive direct exposure to cosmic radiation?

Maybe. How they'd do in direct exposure outside Earth's magnetosphere is unknown, but they're fine after 18 months of full exposure on the outside of the ISS. But give them any shielding at all (like being inside the drill bit box on a rover...) and they ought to survive a journey of years with little loss in viability.

I think the prevailing wisdom for so many years that nothing can survive in space is interesting. It was basically just an assumption. And when tested, it turned out to be unsupported. Endolithipilic lichens require next to nothing in the way of oxygen, water, and CO₂ to survive, and as it turns out, are radiation resistant (thus their being able to survive and stay metabolically active in Mars conditions). Then we have extremophilic bacteria like Deinoccocus radians. D. radians can survive radiation damage that chops its DNA into hundreds of pieces with almost no loss in viability, as well as vacuum, desiccation, and extremely high acidity. I wouldn't be surprised if it handled direct exposure to cosmic radiation fairly well.

[floralamiss]

You’re right, I couldn’t “articulate” any point made, because we’re not speaking. I expressed an intelligent response, which you attempted to counter illogically. Another Freeper and I were trying to answer your question. At the time, we didn’t realize you were being rhetorical. Thanks for wasting our time.

[circlecity]

"Thanks for wasting our time."

After reading your posts I can assure you that was no great loss.

[GeronL]

bump

very interesting

if we can train lichen as astronauts...