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Rio Tinto (Spain)
MARTE (Mars Analog Research and Technology Experiment) uses the search for life in the subsurface of the Rio Tinto (Andalusia, Spain) as a learning experience for guiding the development of technology for drilling, sample handling and instrumentation to be used in the eventual search for subsurface life on Mars.
Why is Rio Tinto like Mars?
The Rio Tinto is located in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, a large deposit of sulfide minerals that was formed in an ancient hydrothermal system. The presence of volcanoes and ground ice on Mars suggests that hydrothermal systems should have formed. Mars is rich in iron and sulfur, key ingredients in the formation of sulfide minerals. Basaltic volcanism appears to have been widespread on Mars. On Earth, sulfide minerals are made in hydrothermal systems associated with basaltic volcanism. Thus, mineral deposits like the ones that we are drilling into on MARTE may be found in the martian subsurface.
More information at: http://search.nasa.gov/search/search.jsp?nasaInclude=Rio+Tinto
Why is Rio Tinto like Mars?
The Rio Tinto is located in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, a large deposit of sulfide minerals that was formed in an ancient hydrothermal system. The presence of volcanoes and ground ice on Mars suggests that hydrothermal systems should have formed. Mars is rich in iron and sulfur, key ingredients in the formation of sulfide minerals. Basaltic volcanism appears to have been widespread on Mars. On Earth, sulfide minerals are made in hydrothermal systems associated with basaltic volcanism. Thus, mineral deposits like the ones that we are drilling into on MARTE may be found in the martian subsurface.
More information at: http://search.nasa.gov/search/search.jsp?nasaInclude=Rio+Tinto
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