NASA JPL'S ORCAA Field Work in Alaska

A group of researchers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other institutions spent two weeks on a glacier in Alaska in July 2023 for a project called ORCAA (Ocean Worlds Reconnaissance and Characterization of Astrobiological Analogs). Known as an analog mission, the project is working to answer science questions and test technology in preparation for a potential future mission to explore the surface or subsurface of icy moons like Jupiter's Europa and Saturn's Enceladus.

Working at the Juneau Icefield, in coordination with the Juneau Icefield Research Project, the team used a hot-water drill to make a narrow hole in the glacier, melting its way progressively deeper. After three days, the drill reached bedrock, 890 feet (272 meters) below the surface. Science instruments were then sent down the borehole to take a variety of measurements and characterize the water environment.

Figure A shows two team members near a supraglacial lake (a body of water on top of the glacier), where biologists could take water samples and compare them to samples taken from the borehole.

Figure B is view of the team's camp from above. A small crescent of tents and supplies can be seen to the left of the lake at the center of the image. Multiple supraglacial lakes are visible.

In 2025, the ORCAA team will return to the icefield and target a subglacial lake (a body of water inside the glacier) that has similarities to a reservoir scientists believe exists a few kilometers beneath the icy surface of Europa.

ORCAA is funded by NASA's Planetary Science and Technology from Analog Research (PSTAR) program.