Posted by tourdemars to Life on Mars at April 30, 2003 12:00 PM

Scientists and engineers with the Mars Analog Research and Technology Experiment (MARTE) recently selected a location near the Rio Tinto river to drill for exotic subsurface life. Representing NASA, numerous U.S. universities, and the Spanish Centro De Astrobiología (Center for Astrobiology), the group hopes to discover underground bacteria and other microbes that feed on minerals obtained from rocks containing iron and sulfur. Though an Earth biological study, MARTE hopes to provide valuable lessons in the search for life on Mars.