( ccasionally to perform detailed surface...)Robot-based system developed at Carnegie Mellon detects life in Chile's Atacama desert

"Based on the rover findings in the field and our tests in the laboratory, there is not one example of the rover giving a false positive," said Edwin Minkley, director of the Center for Biotechnology and Environmental Processes in the Department of Biological Sciences. "Every sample we tested had bacteria in it."

Minkley is conducting analyses to determine the genetic characteristics of the recovered bacteria to identify the different microbial species present in the samples. He also is testing the bacteria's sensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. One hypothesis is that the bacteria may have greater UV resistance because they are exposed to extreme UV radiation in the desert environment. This characterization also may explain why such a high proportion of the bacteria from the most arid site are pigmented ?red, yellow or pink ?as they grow in the laboratory, according to Minkley.

The first phase of the ASTEP project began in 2003 when a solar-powered robot named Hyperion, also developed at Carnegie Mellon, was taken to the Atacama as a research test bed. Scientists conducted experiments with Hyperion to determine the optimum design, software and instrumentation for a robot that would be used in more extensive experiments conducted in 2004 and in 2005. Zoë, a brand new robot, was developed in response to what was learned in 2003. In the final year of the project, plans call for Zoë, equipped with a full array of scientific instruments, to operate autonomously as it travels 50 kilometers over a two-month period.

The science team, led by Cabrol, is made up of geologists and biologists who study both Earth and Mars at institutions including NASA's Ames Research Cent
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Source:Carnegie Mellon University