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Autonomous Robot Finds Life in Atacama Desert 124
Neil Halelamien writes "Nature and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette report that a NASA-funded "robotic astrobiologist" named Zoë (a successor to the Hyperion rover) has found life in Chile's Atacama desert. The Atacama is the Earth's driest desert, with steep slopes and rugged terrain. This is the first robot to remotely detect life, finding bacteria (and lichens, in the less dry areas) by using a fluorescent imager. The robot could also spray special dyes to detect life signatures like DNA, protein, lipids, and carbohydrates. Zoë's next assignment will be to autonomously sample soil over 50 kilometers of the Atacama. The Atacama desert is thought to be similar to Mars; instruments similar to those used on the 1970s Viking missions have previously failed to detect life there."
Re:NASA (Score:1, Funny)
Contamination probably (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Contamination probably (Score:1)
1cm/year water due to fog (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Contamination probably (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Contamination probably (Score:3, Funny)
Face masks (Score:3, Funny)
There used to be life there.... (Score:2)
Re:Contamination probably (Score:2)
Re:Contamination probably (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Contamination probably (Score:1)
"Starbucks - 17 KM
MickyDees - 35 KM
Next Life - 49 KM"
Re:Contamination probably (Score:4, Interesting)
(you should be modded funny, but were already modded with interesting....)
How deep can it drill? (Score:3, Informative)
how dry is dry? (Score:3, Interesting)
http://www.extremescience.com/DriestPlace.htm
Re:how dry is dry? (Score:4, Informative)
"The annual rainfall (or lack of it) defines a desert, but that doesn't mean that it never rains in Atacama. "
Re:how dry is dry? (Score:3, Funny)
"Some places in the Atacama Desert have not had rainfall for over 400 years!"
That's like... the Anti-Seattle.
Re:how dry is dry? (Score:2)
Not only does it rain... (Score:1)
As others have pointed out, it's only some parts of the Atacama that haven't had rain in hundreds of years. It stretches from the coast to the Andes, so it's big enough for some rain to occur.
In fact, a wonderful event happens every once in a while. Some seeds remain dormant in the sand, and when it rains, they are revived, and thousands of flowers suddenly blossom covering large patches of desert. We call it "desie
IANABiologist (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:IANABiologist (Score:5, Insightful)
I've heard speculation that the first microbes might have come to Earth from Mars - if so, it would likely be somewhat similar to life here.
Re:IANABiologist (Score:2)
There are numerous problems with that theory. Mars was only debatably suitable for life production for a short time around 3.8 billion years ago. Before that, it was affected by the late heavy bombardment, as was earth, that would have made any form of life impossible. Not long after that, the atmosphere on Mars became such that it would have not been able to produce life -- any liquid water would have boiled due to th
Re:IANABiologist (Score:4, Insightful)
I actually have to agree with this observation completely. If we consider that our definition of life seems to include specific chemicals and processes and results, and that we really have no other definitions of life, then I suppose that we have no other choice but to see in tunnel vision.
The issue I think is that perhaps we have too strict a definition of "what is necesary for life". Consider: With the recent article [slashdot.org] on self-replicating rapid prototypers, how far are we away from the possibility of machines that can consume raw materials, process them to create power and more complex materials, and possibly reproduce new copies of themselves? That fits the most basic definition of 'life' already. But there's no DNA, or protiens, or any other such things involved.
Maybe we need to start revising our views on what constitutes "signs of life" if we want to have accurate findings. Either that or realize that we can only search for "Life as we know it" specifically.
Re:IANABiologist (Score:2)
Don't get confused. Just because we only know how to look for one kind of life, and therefore only look for that kind of life, doesn't mean that we've turned around and changed what life means. It's just, well, how do you make a detector for something you have no idea how works? I mean, they're just NASA. It's not like they're rocket scientists or anything.
Re:IANABiologist (Score:5, Interesting)
One possibility is that the Martian life and Earth life are related. If rocks can be blown off the surface of Mars and land here- and presumably, vice-versa- it's quite possible that in the early days around 3-4 billion years ago, impact ejecta formed a sort of interplanetary shuttle service for microbes. If Mars became habitable before Earth, it's even possible life actually evolved there, and then was seeded here.
Re:IANABiologist (Score:1)
Re:IANABiologist (Score:2)
Biology: Create life. Estimate the differences in subsequent human culture
if this form of life had developed 500 million years earlier, with special
attention to its probable effect on the English Parliamentary System. Prove
your thesis.
Re:IANABiologist (Score:3, Interesting)
Because life has almost certainly been regularly transferred throughout the solar system as a result of meteors. A meteor strike can splash material away from the site of impact at speeds greater than the escape velocity of Earth or Mars or any other inner-solar-system planet. This is why we find 'Martian meteorites' on Earth. It
Re:IANABiologist (Score:1)
Re:IANABiologist (Score:2, Funny)
Very true. More advanced civilizations may have gone into stealth mode to avoid being detected by more aggressive/hostile civilizations. If so, our radio transmissions might be causing us a lot of problems in the future.
It would be ironic if our demise really was due to pop culture.
Re:IANABiologist (Score:1)
The markers that were sprayed to be illuminated with the UV source were chosen with detection of DNA etc specifically in mind, but the approach is more general. Since Mars has a (slightly) oxidising atmosphere (from photolytic dissociation of water in the upper atmosphere), then the successful detection of any appreciable quantity of
Answers! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Answers! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Answers! (Score:2)
They haven't studied cats or dolphins enough yet to figure it out. ;)
Re:Answers! (Score:4, Interesting)
Whenever I run the various OpenGL demos on my computer, it's always funny to see one of our cats lift up a paw and try and "catch" the rotating object (eg torus) or even just the cursor. The most interesting reaction was when 'glgears' was running, and I couldn't understand why my cat kept looking at the power button. Then I realized it was essentially the symbol of the green gear.
Now we've found life on Earth... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Now we've found life on Earth... (Score:1)
Really?! Life on Earth?! (Score:3, Funny)
Re:And now for the hard part... (Score:2)
How much does this cost? (Score:3, Interesting)
Just out of curiosity, does anyone know how much was spent to create this robot? Or, how big is it (the pictures make it look small, but they can be deceiving)? I'm just curious about the likelihood of devices like this going to Mars any time soon.
Re:How much does this cost? (Score:3, Informative)
Wtf? (Score:3, Funny)
Yeah, thats cheap... I guess NASA's budget has been cut again.
calling capricorn one! (Score:1)
Autonomous robot takes pride in it's work... (Score:5, Funny)
Careful.... (Score:1)
would be funny if... (Score:1)
Re:But the real question is... (Score:2)
for those of you using NASA World Wind.... (Score:2)
Lichens? (Score:1)
"Lichens are symbiotic organisms made up by the association of microscopic green algae or cyanobacteria and filamentous fungi."
Re:Lichens? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Lichens? (Score:2)
Re:Lichens? (Score:4, Funny)
article extract (Score:2, Funny)
"The robot, named Zoe, escaped from a Palo Alto robotics research laboratory earlier this year. Scientists assumed it was lost until tourists photographed it in a remote part of the Atacama desert this week. In a statement to the police the robot said "I'm not going back to the lab. I've made friends out here, why would I leave?"
Hmmm... (Score:1, Insightful)
Let me get this straight, these robots failed to detect life on earth, yet we spend billions of dollars to send them to Mars where they would, once again, fail to find life? Hurrah for the federal bureaucracy!
second look at life on Mars? (Score:3, Interesting)
Whatever happened with that study about the chemical reactions they found on Mars - and thought was life at first - following the day-cycle (the 25 hours of sunlight on Mars or something similar)? I thought the verdict was still out on this?
Re:second look at life on Mars? (Score:1)
The Atacama desert is thought to be similar to Mars; instruments similar to those used on the 1970s Viking missions have previously failed to detect life [astrobio.net] there.
Although the wording is pretty odd, if you follow the link, you'll see that they're talking about a failure to detect life in the Atacama desert, not on Mars.
Re:second look at life on Mars? (Score:4, Informative)
homegrown (Score:5, Funny)
Re:homegrown (Score:1)
Re:homegrown (Score:2)
Life on mars bit (Score:4, Informative)
--
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Or try a free Nintendo DS, GC, PS2, Xbox. [freegamingsystems.com] (you only need 4 referrals)
Wired article as proof [wired.com]
Of course they found life... (Score:4, Funny)
During the week, the Atacama desert is really dead.
Re:Of course they found life... (Score:1)
Re:damn special characters (Score:2)
Re:damn special characters (Score:2)
That was opt-u, opt-e, opt-`, opt-i, and opt-s.
Just ignore this posting and the one above.
Re:damn special characters (Score:1)
Re:damn special characters (Score:1, Flamebait)
The average American, you mean?
Why do we need a rover for this? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Why do we need a rover for this? (Score:2)
Re:Why do we need a rover for this? (Score:1)
In related news (Score:4, Funny)
In related news, Atacama tribe sues NASA for building spray-painting robot, spoiling natural habitat of ancient desert. NASA plans bigger robot equipped with boom box and head scarf to verify once and for all that life does not exist there. "Instead of trying to find life, we figured we just keep making our robots more and more annoying until some alien shows up with a ray gun."
spray-painting robot (Score:1)
That must be Will Smith !
dyes? (Score:3, Funny)
"The robot could also spray special dyes to detect life signatures like DNA, protein, lipids, and carbohydrates."
Hopefully they are non-toxic. Otherwise "Good news: we found life. Bad news: we just killed it". Especially if you are looking for life in difficult landscapes you don't know how endangered something is.
Re:dyes? (Score:2)
Iodine is known to be toxic.
Atacama similar to Mars, really? (Score:3, Insightful)
Don't just assume this robot will function correctly on Mars at Martian temperatures (or even after the space travel at inter-stellar temperatures (let a alone the radiation)), or that its various detection methods that function happily in the -10..+35'C zone will work happily at Martian temperatures and atmospheric pressures.
Interesting that the article didn't mention either of these, and a quick scan of the Slashdot replies missed these relatively obvious problems.
Re:Atacama similar to Mars, really? (Score:1)
This process is somewhat expensive, but an incredible bargain compare
Just wondering... (Score:1)
I've been there (Score:4, Informative)
If you're anywhere near habitation, it's not unusual to see bits of garbage and bits of toilet paper from campers blowing around -- without moisture to break it down it hangs around forever. Archaeologists have found Inca textiles that had been dropped in the Atacama desert that after 500 year were in nearly perfect condition.
When I was there, it had been over five years since the last rainfall. Yet the following year, they had a small rain storm. My relatives, who were doing research there, said that within days the desert was completely covered with tiny, colorful flowers. My sister in law said that if you walked among them, the fragence was so overpoweringly sweet it made you retch. And of couse this display wasn't intended for humans -- it was for the vast clouds of insects that emerged from the apparently sterile soil to pollinate the flowers.
Obviously, there is a tremendous amount of life latent in the soil. There is a huge difference between a few inches of rain per decade and no rain at all.
In Other News... (Score:2)
NASA has ordered two for the next Mars mission.
In related news, Vulcan industries has expressed an interest in licensing the technology to disinfect commercial kitchen floors.
Hmmm (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re:ObTrekQuote (Score:1)
Question: (Score:1)
Other uses (Score:1)
Similar to Mars? (Score:1)
Whereas none of the above applies to Mars. So they are, in fact, completely different. Who is it who "is thought" to believe it to be like Mars?