Nov 30 2012

From The Space Library

RELEASE: 12-408 NASA RESEARCHERS DISCOVER ANCIENT MICROBES IN ANTARCTIC LAKE

WASHINGTON -- In one of the most remote lakes of Antarctica, nearly 65 feet beneath the icy surface, scientists from NASA, the Desert Research Institute (DRI) in Reno, Nev., the University of Illinois at Chicago, and nine other institutions, have uncovered a community of bacteria. This discovery of life existing in one of Earth's darkest, saltiest and coldest habitats is significant because it helps increase our limited knowledge of how life can sustain itself in these extreme environments on our own planet and beyond. Lake Vida, the largest of several unique lakes found in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, contains no oxygen, is mostly frozen and possesses the highest nitrous oxide levels of any natural water body on Earth. A briny liquid, which is approximately six times saltier than seawater, percolates throughout the icy environment where the average temperature is minus 8 degrees Fahrenheit. The international team of scientists published their findings online Nov. 26, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition. "This study provides a window into one of the most unique ecosystems on Earth," said Alison Murray, a molecular microbial ecologist and polar researcher at the DRI and the report's lead author. "Our knowledge of geochemical and microbial processes in lightless icy environments, especially at subzero temperatures, has been mostly unknown up until now. This work expands our understanding of the types of life that can survive in these isolated, cryoecosystems and how different strategies may be used to exist in such challenging environments." Despite the very cold, dark and isolated nature of the habitat, the report finds the brine harbors a surprisingly diverse and abundant variety of bacteria that survive without a current source of energy from the sun. Previous studies of Lake Vida dating back to 1996 indicate the brine and its inhabitants have been isolated from outside influences for more than 3,000 years. "This system is probably the best analog we have for possible ecosystems in the subsurface waters of Saturn's moon Enceladus and Jupiter's moon Europa," said Chris McKay, a senior scientist and co-author of the paper at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. Murray and her co-authors and collaborators, including Peter Doran, the project's principal investigator at the University of Illinois at Chicago, developed stringent protocols and specialized equipment for their 2005 and 2010 field campaigns to sample from the lake brine while avoiding contaminating the pristine ecosystem. "The microbial ecosystem discovered at Lake Vida expands our knowledge of environmental limits for life and helps define new niches of habitability," said Adrian Ponce, co-author from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., who enumerated viable bacterial spore populations extracted from Lake Vida. To sample unique environments such as this, researchers must work under secure, sterile tents on the lake's surface. The tents kept the site and equipment clean as researchers drilled ice cores, collected samples of the salty brine residing in the lake ice and assessed the chemical qualities of the water and its potential for harboring and sustaining life. Geochemical analyses suggest chemical reactions between the brine and the underlying iron-rich sediments generate nitrous oxide and molecular hydrogen. The latter, in part, may provide the energy needed to support the brine's diverse microbial life. Additional research is under way to analyze the abiotic, chemical interactions between the Lake Vida brine and its sediment, in addition to investigating the microbial community by using different genome sequencing approaches. The results could help explain the potential for life in other salty, cryogenic environments beyond Earth, such as purported subsurface aquifers on Mars. This study was partially funded by the NASA Astrobiology Program in collaboration with the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Desert Research Institute, a nonprofit research campus of the Nevada System of Higher Education.

RELEASE: 12-410 NEW "EARTH AS ART" BOOK ILLUSTRATES BEAUTY OF SATELLITE VIEWS

WASHINGTON -- A stunning array of images of our home planet, taken by Earth-observing science satellites, are featured in a new NASA publication. The book, "Earth as Art," is available in hardcover, electronically, and as a free iPad application. The 158-page book celebrates the aesthetic beauty of Earth in the patterns, shapes, colors and textures of the land, oceans, ice and atmosphere. Images include snow-capped mountain peaks in the Himalayas, Arizona's Painted Desert, the Mississippi River Delta spreading into the Gulf of Mexico, a Saharan dune sea in Algeria, and Byrd Glacier in Antarctica. "Earth as Art" features images from the Landsat 5 and 7, Terra, Aqua, and Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellites. All are among a fleet of U.S. environmental satellites used for scientific research and applied purposes. Instruments on these satellites measure light outside of the visible range. The images produced from these data reveal features and patterns not always visible to the naked eye. The Terra, Aqua, and EO-1 satellites are managed by NASA. Landsat satellites are managed by the U.S. Geological Survey.

RELEASE: 12-412 NASA ACCEPTING PROPOSALS FOR REDUCED GRAVITY EDUCATION FLIGHTS

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston is accepting applications from teams of kindergarten, elementary and secondary school teachers to conduct scientific experiments aboard the agency's reduced gravity aircraft next year. The MicroGravity eXperience (Micro GX) flight program will take place July 12-20, 2013, at Johnson. Educators selected to fly also will participate in an online professional development course centered on microgravity science in the months before and after their flights. Seven teams, each composed of four to five educators from a single school or school district, will be selected to participate in Micro GX. The unique academic experience includes scientific and inquiry-based research, experiential learning during the reduced gravity flight, and education/public outreach activities.

RELEASE: 12-413 NASA ANNOUNCES NEW CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLIANCE WEBSITE FOR GRANT RECIPIENTS

WASHINGTON -- NASA has launched a new website, MissionSTEM.nasa.gov, devoted to broadening the reach of its civil rights technical assistance program. The goal of the site is to increase communication between NASA, its grantee institutions and other stakeholders on civil rights compliance, equal opportunity and diversity in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs funded by NASA. NASA awarded approximately $1.2 billion this year in the form of grants and cooperative agreements to more than 600 recipients including universities, colleges, science centers and museums, research centers, school districts and health facilities. The grants are intended to expand and improve NASA's research and technological capabilities, stimulate innovation and build the skills of future science and technology leaders. NASA grants also provide opportunities for all Americans to understand and participate in NASA's exciting mission by supporting and enhancing STEM public outreach and informal education efforts. Federal law and NASA regulations require grant recipients to ensure funding received from the agency is used in a nondiscriminatory manner. They must give equal opportunities to the beneficiaries of the funding regardless of race, national origin, gender, disability or age. In the university setting, beneficiaries include undergraduate and graduate students. In a science museum setting, beneficiaries include members of the public who patronize the museum. NASA's Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity (ODEO) oversees the compliance of agency grant recipients with federal equal opportunity laws and agency regulations. ODEO provides assistance to grantees in meeting their compliance obligations in a number of ways, including conducting program reviews and disseminating information on how to conduct compliance self-evaluations. MissionSTEM will broaden and enhance ODEO's compliance efforts by providing a platform for the sharing of compliance requirements, promising practices, video content, virtual panel discussions and information for students. The MissionSTEM site also will be the centerpiece of NASA's civil rights technical assistance efforts. The site will leverage the scientific and technical expertise of NASA leaders, compliance officials and professional organizations. It will be updated continually to help NASA grant recipients pursue innovative ways to increase access to and interest in STEM fields. It also is a valuable resource for students and members of the public interested in space science, technology and exploration.

MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-223 NASA TO HOST DEC. 3 TELECONFERENCE ABOUT VOYAGER MISSION

PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. PST (2 p.m. EST) on Monday, Dec. 3, to discuss the latest findings and travels of NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft. Voyager 1 and its twin Voyager 2 have been speeding through the outer reaches of our solar system and sending back unprecedented data about the bubble of charged particles around our sun. They were launched in 1977 and have traveled farther from Earth than any other spacecraft.