The Mars Exploration Rover and Mars Science Lab missions have demonstrated that early Mars was habitable for (primitive) life as we know it. However, missions now on their way to Mars are shifting their objectives from the characterization of habitable environments to the search for prebiotic chemistry and biosignatures on Mars, an exploration that requires a different approach to understand what to search for, where to search, and how to search. The study of terrestrial extreme environments plays a critical role in the preparation for these missions, and the support of their operations. Study sites in the Atacama Desert, the altiplano, and the Andes represent the closest analogs on Earth to early Martian environments. Through the study of the distribution, abundance and nature of microorganisms that survive there, and the types and composition of environments they have adapted to, we learn what exploration strategies, technology, instruments, spatial scales and spectral resolution are needed to detect them on Mars. Ultimately, because of the similarities between early Earth and Mars, and due to the exchange of planetary material between the two planets in the early times of the solar system, while terrestrial extreme environments are helping us prepare the search for life on Mars, finding life on Mars could one day help us understand the origins of life on Earth.

Presenter Bio

Nathalie A. Cabrol, SETI Institute

Nathalie is the Science Director of the Carl Sagan Center at the SETI Institute and a Senior Scientist. She has 20 years of experience and leadership in planetary science and astrobiology. She develops science exploration strategies for Mars and the Outer Solar System’s moons and designs robotic field experiments. Using free and scuba diving, Nathalie explores high altitude lakes between 14,000 ft and 20,000 ft in the Andes where conditions are analogous to those of early Mars. With her team, she documents life’s adaptation to extreme environments, the effect of rapid environmental change on habitability, its geobiological signatures and their detectability, and their relevance to planetary exploration. She was the spokesperson for the selection of Gusev crater as the landing site for the NASA Mars Exploration Rover Spirit in 2004 and a science team member of that mission. She counts over 400 peer-reviewed publications and proceedings of conferences. She is the author of 4 books and 7 chapters of books on the subject of planetary science and exploration, astrobiology, and terrestrial extreme environments. She was elected Wings WorldQuest’s Women of Discovery (Air and Space) in 2005, Carey Fellow in 2007, and Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences in 2016. She is the recipient of NASA achievements awards for her work in exploration and astrobiology.