CX-270256: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Mars Methane Plume Tracer

The Mars Methane Plume Tracer Field Experiment will be conducted under NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Planetary Science Division (PSD) funding to support Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP). Specifically, a grant under the ASTEP program to Cornell University was awarded to study the nature of astrobiologically relevant plumes on Mars and to develop techniques to detect such plumes and optimally navigate to their sources. The project would use the previously established Grid III tracer dispersion test area on the INL Site located north of the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC) and east of the Advanced Test Reactor Complex (ATR). The Grid III test facility was established in the early 1960s and has been occasionally used for dispersion tests of this type. The Grid III test facility has established tracer sampling arcs with access roads extending 50 to 3200 m from the center of the release point.