Martian analogue test site - pilbara craton, western Australia

All exploration for life elsewhere depends on extrapolation from our knowledge of Earth. If the target is former microbial life, for example on Mars, there is no better analogue on Earth than the 3.5 billion year old rocks of the Pilbara region, Western Australia. This area is home to signs of the earliest life on Earth in the form of microbe, many famous stromatolitic horizons and carbon isotope biosignatures. These occur in a volcanic terrain, with weathering and hydrothermal alteration, which also has some similarity to Mars. The geology of this region is known in detail after decades of mapping and other studies. Current work includes studies to resolve disputes about the biogenicity of the microfossils and stromatolites. On balance, biological origins are most likely. In any event, problems of demonstrating biogenicity on other planets will be far more severe, and the work on the Pilbara materials will illuminate those problems. Also underway is mineral mapping of the volcanic, hydrothermal and fossiliferous units using both airborne and hand-held short-wave infrared spectrometers, We are able to map the fossiliferous units using this technique and contend that it would be a powerful exploration technique on Mars and elsewhere. Using the Pilbara as an analogue for other bodies in the Solar System can extend to using it as a place to test instrument packages under realistic conditions. The region has good air and road access, and good supporting infrastructure.