Notice of Intent to Conduct a Mars Analog Drilling Field Test/Demonstration

The Mars Program Office at JPL/NASA intends to sponsor a field test/demonstration for robotic drilling systems sometime in the period Dec. 2005 to Feb. 2006. Current plans are for this test to be hosted at the Idaho National Lab, in Idaho Falls, ID. The site we are considering consists of layered basalt flows of the Snake River Plain, and some thin overlying regolith. This site is a good geologic analog for both Mars and the Moon, and drills for either application up to a depth of 20 m can be tested/demonstrated.

See the Notice of Intent for more details. (Post until Aug. 31, 2005)