Spaceward Bound India 2016
Spaceward Bound, a NASA Ames initiative, is an opportunity for astrogeologists and astrobiologists to work with students in remote, off Earth analogous environments to conduct field experiments and engage in scientific discussions with participating students and science educators. As a first, scientists from NASA’s astrobiology community are teaming up with their counterparts in Australia and India to visit Ladakh, India in August 2016 to conduct experiments in a range of research areas. Ladakh is a cold, high altitude (3000-6000m asl) desert environment that offers permafrost regions, saline and palaeolakes, hot springs that have shown to harbor microbial communities. It is also a young and active geological region that exhibits topological processes which hold clues about Martian terrain history. Interested researchers can contact the team with ideas/suggestions towards planned experiments at spacewardbound@astrobiologyindia.in. Follow the Spaceward Bound India team’s updates on their website, Facebook page and Twitter account as they continue to refine their planned experiments, engage in webinars and prepare for the first pilot joint venture astrobiological field expedition in India. Exciting times ahead!