P057-04
MACIE: Mars Astrobiological Caves and Internal Habitability Explorer (a New Frontiers Mission Concept) for the next decade

Monday, 14 December 2020: 07:12
Virtual
Charity M Phillips-Lander1, Jennifer G Blank2, Kyle Uckert3, Aliakbar Aghamohammadi4, Cansu Demirel5, Timothy N Titus6, Jut Wynne7, Nancy Chanover8, F Javier Martin-Torres9, Nicole Bardabelias10, Svetlana Shkolyar11, Karl L Mitchell12, Kaj Williams13, Danielle Y Wyrick1, Ed Goolish14, Akos Kereszturi15 and Kurt D Retherford16, (1)Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX, United States, (2)NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, United States, (3)NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, United States, (4)NASA-JPL, Caltech, Pasadena, CA, United States, (5)Istanbul Technical University, Faculty of Mines, Department of Geological Engineering, Istanbul, Turkey, (6)USGS Astrogeology, Flagstaff, AZ, United States, (7)Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, United States, (8)New Mexico State University Main Campus, Department of Astronomy, Las Cruces, NM, United States, (9)Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden, (10)Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, Tuscon, United States, (11)Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Seattle, WA, United States, (12)Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, United States, (13)Montana State University - Earth Sciences, Bozeman, MT, United States, (14)NASA Astrobiology Institute, Moffett Field, CA, United States, (15)Konkoly Observatory, Astrophysical and Geochemical Laboratory, Budapest, Hungary, (16)Southwest Research Inst, San Antonio, TX, United States
Recorded Presentation
Abstract:
Post-Noachian Mars’ (<3.1 Ga) surface conditions degraded rapidly, rendering these environments inhospitable to life as we know it. Brines and metastable water ice may have persisted in lava tube caves; their presence could have allowed life to thrive and may support modern and/or recently habitable subsurface environments where life exists today.

MACIE, a New Frontiers-class mission concept, addresses the National Academies call to explore the Martian subsurface to determine its habitability and astrobiological potential. MACIE’s science payload will search for evidence of extant or past Martian life by searching for organic, morphological, and mineral biosignatures. Additionally, MACIE will determine the habitability of subsurface cavities by (1) quantifying the primary and alteration mineralogy and geochemistry of the cave; (2) determining the presence and extent of brines and water ice; (3) evaluating cave micro-climate via temperature, pressure, and relative humidity measurements; (4) and mapping cave geometry and volume; and (5) characterizing the radiation environment. These measurements will yield essential context for MACIE’s astrobiology investigation, providing environmental evidence in support of a either a detection or non-detection of life.

Understanding the habitability and astrobiological potential of the Martian subsurface is now possible within the next decade as multiple technologies under development are reaching maturity. Most known lava tube entrances on Mars require tethered robotic entry through a vertical skylight. Additional reconnaissance of areas where lava tube skylights occur will likely reveal non-vertical entrances to lava tube caves – ingress via a non-vertical route would simplify mission architecture and decrease operational risk. The Collaborative SubTerranean Autonomous Resilient robots (CoSTAR) Team, a top contender to win DARPA’s current Sub-Terranean Challenge, will enhance MACIE’s operational concepts and planning through evolutionary progress in mobility, communication, and autonomous sampling and navigation in the absence of GPS.

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