NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

In the foreground are two trays of germinating Arabidopsis seeds nestled among the rocks at the Haughton-Mars Project site in far-northern Canada. This impact crater site on Devon Island is an earthly analog to the surface of Mars. Scientists chose the polar region because of the extreme environmental conditions, lack of infrastructure and resources and geologic features. Haughton Crater also is geographically similar to Shackleton Crater at the south pole of the moon. Both are impact craters that measure roughly 12.4 miles in diameter. Robert N. Bowman, John Hogan, Pascal Lee and S. Pete Worden, director of NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., grew the plants outside on Devon Island in summer of 2007 to study how they would perform in such a harsh environment with a very short growing season and cold temperatures. The plants are genetically optimized for experiments proposed for the surface of the moon and Mars. Plants may well be among the first earthly life forms to colonize the surface of the moon, Mars and beyond, according to scientists. Plants like those growing here may piggyback in microhabitats on future lunar and Mars rovers exploring new frontiers as humans continue to explore nearby celestial bodies in our solar system. Not only are plants adapted to survival in hostile environments, they also will play a role in feeding future human colonists and conditioning their life-giving atmosphere, scientists predict. With a human researcher in the background, the guard dog, Ping-Pong, watches for polar bears that may pose a threat to explorers at the stark Mars-like research site. For more information about the Haughton-Mars Project, please visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/research/expeditions/haughton.html

http://www.arctic-mars.org/

Image Credit: NASA Haughton-Mars Project 2007. Photo may be used without further permission for news and public affairs uses. For all other uses, please contact Pascal Lee by e-mail: Pascal.Lee@marsinstitute.net. Click on the image for full-resolution.