Design and practices for use of automated drilling and sample handling in MARTE while minimizing terrestrial and cross contamination.

Mars Astrobiology Research and Technology Experiment (MARTE) investigators used an automated drill and sample processing hardware to detect and categorize life-forms found in subsurface rock at Río Tinto, Spain. For the science to be successful, it was necessary for the biomass from other sources--whether from previously processed samples (cross contamination) or the terrestrial environment (forward contamination)-to be insignificant. The hardware and practices used in MARTE were designed around this problem. Here, we describe some of the design issues that were faced and classify them into problems that are unique to terrestrial tests versus problems that would also exist for a system that was flown to Mars. Assessment of the biomass at various stages in the sample handling process revealed mixed results; the instrument design seemed to minimize cross contamination, but contamination from the surrounding environment sometimes made its way onto the surface of samples. Techniques used during the MARTE Río Tinto project, such as facing the sample, appear to remove this environmental contamination without introducing significant cross contamination from previous samples.

[1]  Kasthuri Venkateswaran,et al.  ATP as a biomarker of viable microorganisms in clean-room facilities. , 2003, Journal of microbiological methods.

[2]  J. Luteyn.  Diversity, adaptation, and endemism in neotropical Ericaceae: biogeographical patterns in the Vaccinieae , 2008, The Botanical Review.

[3]  David P. Miller,et al.  AUTOMATED CORE SAMPLE HANDLING FOR FUTURE MARS DRILL MISSIONS , 2005 .

[4]  William D. McElroy,et al.  [1] Purification and properties of firefly luciferase , 1978 .

[5]  N. Russell,et al.  Antarctic Dry Valley mineral soils contain unexpectedly high levels of microbial biomass , 2002, Extremophiles.

[6]  P. Stanley.  Extraction of adenosine triphosphate from microbial and somatic cells. , 1986, Methods in enzymology.

[7]  D. Karl,et al.  Cellular nucleotide measurements and applications in microbial ecology. , 1980, Microbiological reviews.

[8]  W D McElroy,et al.  Firefly and bacterial luminescence: basic science and applications. , 1983, Journal of applied biochemistry.

[9]  Bin Chen,et al.  The 2005 MARTE Robotic Drilling Experiment in Río Tinto, Spain: objectives, approach, and results of a simulated mission to search for life in the Martian subsurface. , 2008, Astrobiology.

[10]  Carol R. Stoker,et al.  Mars Analog Research and Technology Experiment (MARTE): A Simulated Mars Drilling Mission to Search for Subsurface Life at the Rio Tinto, Spain , 2003 .

[11]  A. Lundin,et al.  Analytical information obtainable by evaluation of the time course of firefly bioluminescence in the assay of ATP. , 1975, Analytical biochemistry.

[12]  F. Rego,et al.  Root distribution of a Mediterranean shrubland in Portugal , 2003, Plant and Soil.

[13]  Rosalba Bonaccorsi,et al.  Science results from a Mars drilling simulation (Río Tinto, Spain) and ground truth for remote science observations. , 2008, Astrobiology.

[14]  C. Cutter,et al.  Use of a newly developed rapid microbial ATP bioluminescence assay to detect microbial contamination on poultry carcasses. , 1996, Journal of bioluminescence and chemiluminescence.

[15]  K. Stetter.  Extremophiles and their adaptation to hot environments , 1999, FEBS letters.

[16]  Carol R. Stoker,et al.  Subsurface Organics in Aseptic Cores From the MARTE Robotic Drilling Experiment: Ground truth and Contamination Issues , 2006 .

[17]  O. Holm‐Hansen,et al.  THE MEASUREMENT OF ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE IN THE OCEAN AND ITS ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE1 , 1966 .

[18]  Javier Gómez-Elvira,et al.  The subsurface geology of Río Tinto: material examined during a simulated Mars drilling mission for the Mars Astrobiology Research and Technology Experiment (MARTE). , 2008, Astrobiology.

[19]  A. Lundin,et al.  Comparison of methods for extraction of bacterial adenine nucleotides determined by firefly assay. , 1975, Applied microbiology.

[20]  J. Robertson,et al.  ATP measurements obtained by luminometry provide rapid estimation of Ureaplasma urealyticum growth , 1987, Journal of clinical microbiology.

[21]  Javier Gómez-Elvira,et al.  SOLID2: an antibody array-based life-detector instrument in a Mars Drilling Simulation Experiment (MARTE). , 2008, Astrobiology.

[22]  Javier Gómez-Elvira,et al.  MARTE: Technology development and lessons learned from a Mars drilling mission simulation , 2007, J. Field Robotics.

[23]  Carol R. Stoker,et al.  Field Simulation of a Drilling Mission to Mars to Search for Subsurface Life , 2005 .

[24]  C. A. Davidson,et al.  Evaluation of two methods for monitoring surface cleanliness-ATP bioluminescence and traditional hygiene swabbing. , 1999, Luminescence : the journal of biological and chemical luminescence.

[25]  Naoki Kajiyama,et al.  Enhanced microbial biomass assay using mutant luciferase resistant to benzalkonium chloride. , 2003, Analytical biochemistry.

[26]  W. Schlesinger,et al.  Separation of root respiration from total soil respiration using carbon-13 labeling during Free-Air Carbon dioxide Enrichment (FACE) , 1999 .