# Sub surface Minas de Riotino, Spain **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 30, 2016, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sub-surface-minas-de-riotino-spain/753538 "2016-04-30T20:36:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2016, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sub-surface-minas-de-riotino-spain/753538/1 "2016-04-30T20:36:00Z")
NASA has an experiment involving drilling by remote control in [Minas de Riotino](http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/news/releases/2003/03_74AR.html). > [@NASA](#): > > The subsurface is the key environment for searching for life on other planets, according to MARTE scientists. "Life needs liquid water and a source of energy,Ó Stoker said. "On Earth, most common life forms are at the surface where sunlight provides the energy, but liquid water occurs rarely at the martian surface, if at all. Liquid water is expected in the subsurface of Mars. So NASA plans to use robotic drilling to search for subsurface life. That is why we are testing the life-search strategy in the Rio Tinto, where subsurface water and chemical energy are expected to support life.Ó Stoker added. What qualifies Minas de Riotino? ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sub-surface-minas-de-riotino-spain/753538/2 "2016-05-01T18:12:04Z")
Just down the road from Minas de Tirith. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sub-surface-minas-de-riotino-spain/753538/3 "2016-05-01T18:32:59Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > Just down the road from Minas de Tirith. More like “Las minas de Moria” since mina is spanish for “mine” (as in excavation for minerals, not “this is mine”) (In Rioplatense Spanish “Mina” is also slang for “Woman”, and Moria Casán was a famous star of risqué theatrical shows (called “Teatro de Revista”) so “Las minas de Moria” could also mean something else :P.) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sub-surface-minas-de-riotino-spain/753538/4 "2016-05-02T10:11:15Z")
RíotinTo, red river. While the mines are still exploited, there is also a [museum of mining](http://parquemineroderiotinto.es/?page_id=1470&lang=en) (webpage partially in English); one of their current purposes is precisely the study of mining in different conditions, some of them quite difficult due among other things to the presence of underground water (one of the things Nasa wanted). Most mining areas have one main mineral: Riotinto contains multiple compounds and metals which have been of interest at different periods and which involve different mining techniques. It’s available, it’s owned by a government who is very happy to share research with friendly countries, and since it’s already a research area it’s a bit like going to the library for a book. And unlike nearby(ish) [Almadén](http://www.parqueminerodealmaden.es/descubre/index.php?idioma=in), it doesn’t have mercury lying about. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sub-surface-minas-de-riotino-spain/753538/5 "2016-05-02T11:09:52Z")
Thanks, Nava.