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Astrobiology Technology – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies
Astrobiology Technology – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies

The ARADS rover prototype features a robotic arm that is programmed to collect soil samples from the rover’s drill and…

Evidence of Rare Desert Rain – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies
Evidence of Rare Desert Rain – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies

The Atacama Desert in Chile is one of the driest places on Earth. However, a rare rain event did occur…

Mapping with Lasers – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies
Mapping with Lasers – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies

At the top of the ARADS rover, seen here during testing in Chile’s Atacama Desert, is a gray cylinder that…

Science in a Jar – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies
Science in a Jar – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies

A spinning brush sweeps soil off the ARADS rover’s drill into a sample jar.

Rover Engineer at Work – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies
Rover Engineer at Work – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies

Linda Kobayashi, an electrical engineer on the ARADS team, helps install an instrument on the rover from below.

A Life-Detection Mini-lab – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies
A Life-Detection Mini-lab – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies

The Microfluidics Life Analyzer, or MILA, shown here before installation on the ARADS rover, is one instrument looking for signs…

Digging for Microbes – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies
Digging for Microbes – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies

Scientists from the ARADS astrobiology project recently did field work in Chile’s Atacama Desert, learning about the rare microbes that…

Studying Extreme Desert Lifeforms – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies
Studying Extreme Desert Lifeforms – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies

In the middle of Chile’s Atacama Desert, members of the ARADS team take soil samples for their research about the…

Doing Science from a Distance – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies
Doing Science from a Distance – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies

During field tests in the Atacama Desert, the ARADS project develops and tries out methods of doing science from a…

Rover Under the Milky Way – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies
Rover Under the Milky Way – Atacama Rover Astrobiology Drilling Studies

The Moon begins to rise behind the ARADS rover during the 2017 season of field tests in Chile’s Atacama Desert.