Searching for Life in Earth's Early Geological Record

  • Searching for Life in Earth's Early Geological Record

The study of environments and search for life elsewhere in the solar system is informed by the the study of life in Earth’s geological record.

Field testing prototype coring bits by drilling stromatolites in Western Australia
Field testing prototype Mars rover coring bits by drilling 2.7 billion-year-old stromatolites in Western Australia.

 

Archean Stromatolite
Archean (2.8 billion-year-old) fossils deposited in an ancient lake, similar to the depositional environment of early Mars.

Chief Investigators