What laboratory research is being done on site?
Four laboratories are currently active. One is a wet lab studying halophiles, or salt-loving bacteria, a likely candidate for both early life on earth and possibly extinct or even extant life on Mars. Another is an instrument laboratory developing small, field-deployable spectrometers focused on Raman spectroscopy. The third lab utilizes spectral analysis of rock and minerals in a Mars-like environment to understand how future Mars missions may detect various signatures. Finally, the SETI group operates a signal analysis laboratory to develop advanced techniques of signal processing.
