A group of local high school students working with the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and ʻIolani School’s ʻĀina Informatics Network (AIN) are researching bacteria found in Hawaiian lava tubes to better understand the potential for life on other planets. With similarities to the chemical composition of Mars, Hawaiʻi’s lava tubes harbor valuable information that can be used to better understand extreme environments elsewhere in the solar system.
Led by UH Mānoa Research Affiliate Professor Rebecca Prescott, the students are studying microbes that could potentially survive on other planets while learning ethical ways of conducting research at culturally significant sites in the Hawaiian islands.