A two-week expedition of a remote lake in interior British Columbia will help scientists and engineers search for evidence of early life on Mars.
Researchers from the University of British Columbia and McMaster University, along with astronauts and scientists from NASA will use single-person submersibles to explore the deepest parts of Pavilion Lake and collect samples of unique freshwater microbialites.
Microbialites are reef-like structures formed by bacteria. The living microbialites in Pavilion Lake resemble ancient microbialite fossils from the early Cambrian period, when life first formed on Earth. They provides rare insights into how “biological signatures” of early life forms may be preserved in rock structures.
“Better understanding of how ancient fossils on Earth were created will hone our ability to find and detect life — and remnants of life — on other planets,” says UBC Civil Engineering Prof. Bernard Laval, co-principal investigator of the Pavilion Lake Research Project (PLRP).
Laval is an expert in physical limnology and fluid mechanics. He and colleagues first reported the discovery of microbialites in Pavilion Lake in 2000 and has since studied how nutrients are carried by water flows to and from the microbialites using unmanned autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV).
Situated between Cache Creek and Lillooet, about five hours north of Vancouver, Pavilion Lake is recognized as an analogue for ancient Earth and space exploration for its depth and unique freshwater microbialites.
PLRP researchers will use two DeepWorker submersibles, developed by North Vancouver company Nuytco Research Ltd. — and closely resembling manned rovers currently being designed for exploration of the Moon — to map and collect samples of microbialites in depths more than 60 metres.
Laval and UBC PhD candidate Alexander Forrest will also use an AUV, similar in function to the robotic rovers currently exploring Mars, to complement the DeepWorker exploration.
Media are invited to attend the PLRP Media Open House on June 27. For details visit www.nasa.gov/centers/ames.
For photos of microbialites, visit www.PavilionLake.com.
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