EXPOSE is a multi-user facility mounted outside the International Space Station (ISS) dedicated to astrobiology. [1] [2] EXPOSE was developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) for long-term spaceflights and was designed to allow exposure of chemical and biological samples to outer space while recording data during exposure. [3]
The results will contribute to our understanding of photobiological processes in simulated radiation climates of planets (e.g. early Earth, early and present Mars, and the role of the ozone layer in protecting the biosphere from harmful UV-B radiation), as well as studies of the probabilities and limitations for life to be distributed beyond its planet of origin. [4] EXPOSE data support long-term in situ studies of microbes in artificial meteorites, as well as of microbial communities from special ecological niches. Some EXPOSE experiments investigated to what extent particular terrestrial organisms are able to cope with extraterrestrial environmental conditions. Others tested how organic molecules react when subjected for a prolonged period of time to unfiltered solar light.
EXPOSE has several objectives, specific to each experiments, but all linked to the astrobiology domain. Their collective objective is to better understand the nature and evolution of organic matter present in extraterrestrial environments and their potential implications in astrobiology. These experiments mostly study molecules of cometary interest in order to understand the results of the Rosetta mission, the chemistry of Titan (Cassini–Huygens mission), or the organic chemistry of the Martian environment (Mars Science Laboratory and ExoMars project). [5]
With the experiments onboard of the EXPOSE facilities, various aspects of astrobiology were investigated that could not be sufficiently approached by use of laboratory facilities on ground. The chemical set of experiments is designed to reach a better understanding of the role of interstellar, cometary and planetary chemistry in the origin of life. Comets and meteorites are interpreted as exogenous sources of prebiotic molecules on the early Earth. All data achieved from the astrobiological experiments on both EXPOSE missions will add to the understanding of the origin and evolution of life on Earth and on the possibility of its distribution in space or origin elsewhere. [1]
Data obtained from the studies on complex organics of cometary interest will support the interpretation of in-situ data obtained from the Rosetta mission after landing on Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko in 2014, and samples analyzed by the Curiosity and ExoMars rovers on Mars. Finally the chemical experiments will contribute to the understanding of the chemical processes on Saturn's moon Titan and possible analogies to the prebiotic chemistry on the early Earth. [1]
The biology experiments used the full extraterrestrial spectrum of solar UV radiation and suitable cut-off filters to study both, the role of the ozone layer in protecting our biosphere and the likelihood of resistant terrestrial microorganisms (extremophiles) to survive in outer space. The latter studies will provide experimental data to the lithopanspermia hypothesis, [6] and they will provide basic data to planetary protection issues. To get better insight into the habitability of Mars, one set of samples was exposed to simulated Martian conditions (UV-radiation climate, pressure, atmosphere), with and without a protective cover of simulated Martian soil. [6] The biological test samples selected are hardy representatives of various branches of life. [1]
There were three EXPOSE experiments completed between 2008 and 2015: EXPOSE-E, EXPOSE-R and EXPOSE-R2.
The EXPOSE-E was launched on 7 February 2008 on board the Space Shuttle Atlantis and was mounted on the ISS European module Columbus to the European Technology Exposure Facility (EuTEF). EXPOSE-R was launched to the ISS on 26 November 2008 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on board of a Progress capsule and was mounted on the ISS Russian module Zevzda. EXPOSE-E provided accommodation in three exposure trays for a variety of astrobiological test samples that were exposed to selected space conditions: either to space vacuum, solar electromagnetic radiation at >110 nm and cosmic radiation (trays 1 and 3) or to simulated Martian surface conditions (tray 2). The different experiments consisted in exposing solid molecules, gas mixtures or biological samples to the solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation, cosmic rays, vacuum and temperature fluctuations of outer space as the ISS repeatedly passed between areas of direct sunlight and the cold darkness of Earth's shadow. [3] [7]
At the end of the exposition period, EXPOSE-E was brought back to the ground in September 2009 as part of the Space Shuttle Discovery mission STS-128. EXPOSE-R was brought back in 2011 by a Soyuz spacecraft. From the landing site in Kazakhstan, the trays were returned via Moscow and distributed to scientists for further analysis in their laboratories. EXPOSE-R2 was launched on 24 July 2014, exposure was finished in April 2015, and was returned to Earth in early 2016 where it is still undergoing analyses.
The EXPOSE-E experiments are: [1] [3]
The search for organic molecules at the surface of Mars is a top priority of Mars exploration space missions. Therefore, a key step in interpretation of future data collected by these missions is to understand the preservation of organic matter in the Martian environment. A 1.5-year exposure to Mars-like surface UV radiation conditions in space resulted in complete degradation of the organic compounds (glycine, serine, phthalic acid, phthalic acid in the presence of a mineral phase, and mellitic acid). Their half-lives were between 50 and 150 h for Martian surface conditions. [10]
To understand the chemical behavior of organic molecules in the space environment, amino acids and a dipeptide in pure form and embedded in meteorite powder were exposed to space conditions for 18 months; the samples were returned to Earth and analyzed in the laboratory for reactions caused by solar UV and cosmic radiation. The results show that resistance to irradiation is a function of the chemical nature of the exposed molecules and the wavelengths of the UV light. The most altered compounds were the dipeptide, aspartic acid, and aminobutyric acid. The most resistant were alanine, valine, glycine, and aminoisobutyric acid. The results also demonstrate the protective effect of meteorite powder, which reemphasizes the importance of exogenic contribution to the inventory of prebiotic organics on early Earth. [12]
Bacterial endospores of the highly UV-resistant Bacillus subtilis strain MW01 were exposed to low Earth orbit and simulated Martian surface conditions for 559 days. It was clearly shown that solar extraterrestrial UV radiation (λ ≥110 nm) as well as the Martian UV spectrum (λ ≥200 nm) was the most deleterious factor applied; in some samples only a few spore survivors were recovered from B. subtilis MW01 spores exposed in monolayers. However, if shielded from solar irradiation , about 8% of MW01 spores survived, and 100% survived in simulated Martian conditions, compared to the laboratory controls. [13]
Halococcus dombrowskii (ADAPT II) and a naturally UV-adapted phototrophic community (ADAPT III) were two other targets of the experiment. [13] For ADAPT-II, no counting from the space station has been published, but preliminary ground experiments have established some tolerance levels. [14] The results for ADAPT-III has been published. Many dyes (chlorophyll and carotenoids) used by the microbials are bleached by the UV rays, and quite a few species used in the dark control groups died. Chroococcidiopsis was the one to survive every group. Chlorella , Gloeocapsa , and Geminicoccus roseus were able to survide a lower UV level. [15]
Spore-forming bacteria are of particular concern in the context of planetary protection because their tough endospores may withstand certain sterilization procedures as well as the harsh environments of outer space or planetary surfaces. To test their hardiness on a hypothetical mission to Mars, spores of Bacillus subtilis 168 and Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 were exposed for 1.5 years to selected parameters of space. It was clearly shown that solar extraterrestrial UV radiation (λ ≥110 nm) as well as the Martian UV spectrum (λ ≥200 nm) was the most deleterious factor applied; in some samples only a few survivors were recovered from spores exposed in monolayers. Spores in multilayers survived better by several orders of magnitude. All other environmental parameters encountered did little harm to the spores, which showed about 50% survival or more. The data demonstrate the high chance of survival of spores on a Mars mission, if protected against solar irradiation. These results will have implications for planetary protection considerations. [16]
The mutagenic efficiency of space was also studied in spores of Bacillus subtilis 168. The data show the unique mutagenic power of space and Martian surface conditions as a consequence of DNA injuries induced by solar UV radiation and space vacuum or the low pressure of Mars. [17] Spores exposed to space demonstrated a much broader and more severe stress response than spores exposed to simulated Martian conditions. [18]
A comparative protein analysis (proteomics) of Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 spores indicated that proteins conferring resistant traits (superoxide dismutase) were present in higher concentration in space-exposed spores when compared to controls. Also, the first-generation cells and spores derived from space-exposed samples exhibited elevated ultraviolet-C resistance when compared with their ground control counterparts. The data generated are important for calculating the probability and mechanisms of microbial survival in space conditions and assessing microbial contaminants as risks for forward contamination and in situ life detection. [19]
After 1.5 years in space, samples were retrieved, rehydrated and spread on different culture media. The only two organisms able to grow were isolated from a sample exposed to simulated Mars conditions beneath a 0.1% T Suprasil neutral density filter and from a sample exposed to space vacuum without solar radiation exposure, respectively. The two surviving organisms were identified as Stichococcus sp. (green algae) and Acarospora sp. (lichenized fungal genus). [20] Among other fungal spores tested were Cryomyces antarcticus and Cryomyces minteri , and although 60% of the cells' DNA studied remained intact after the Mars-like conditions, less than 10% of the fungi were able to proliferate and form colonies after their return to Earth. [21] According to the researchers, the studies provide experimental information on the possibility of eukaryotic life transfer from one planet to another by means of rocks and of survival in Mars environment. [20]
Cryptoendolithic microbial communities and epilithic lichens have been considered as appropriate candidates for the scenario of lithopanspermia, which proposes a natural interplanetary exchange of organisms by means of rocks that have been impact ejected from their planet of origin. A 1.5 years exposure experiment in space was performed with a variety of rock-colonizing eukaryotic organisms. Selected organisms are known to cope with the environmental extremes of their natural habitats. It was found that some — but not all — of those most robust microbial communities from extremely hostile regions on Earth are also partially resistant to the even more hostile environment of outer space, including high vacuum, temperature fluctuation, the full spectrum of extraterrestrial solar electromagnetic radiation, and cosmic ionizing radiation. Although the reported experimental period of 1.5 years in space is not comparable with the time spans of thousands or millions of years believed to be required for lithopanspermia, the data provide first evidence of the differential hardiness of cryptoendolithic communities in space. [22] [23]
The plausibility that life was imported to Earth from elsewhere was tested by subjecting plant seeds to 1.5 years of exposure to solar UV, solar and galactic cosmic radiation, temperature fluctuations, and space vacuum outside the International Space Station. Of the 2100 exposed wild-type Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) seeds, 23% produced viable plants after being returned to Earth. Germination was delayed in seeds shielded from solar light, yet full survival was attained, which indicates that longer space travel would be possible for seeds embedded in an opaque matrix. The team conclude that a naked, seed-like entity could have survived exposure to solar UV radiation during a hypothetical transfer from Mars to Earth, and even if seeds do not survive, components (e.g., their DNA) might survive transfer over cosmic distances. [24]
As a consequence of the high shielding by the nearby ISS, the biological samples were predominantly exposed to galactic cosmic heavy ions, while electrons and a significant fraction of protons of the radiation belts and solar wind did not reach the samples. [25]
R3D measured ionizing and non-ionizing radiation as well as cosmic radiation reaching the biological samples located on the EXPOSE-E. Due to errors in data transmission or temporary termination of EXPOSE power, not all data could be acquired. Radiation was not constant during the mission. At regular intervals of about 2 months, low or almost no radiation was encountered. The radiation dose during the mission was 1823.98 MJ m−2 for PAR, 269.03 MJ m−2 for UVA, 45.73 MJ m−2 for UVB, or 18.28 MJ m−2 for UVC. Registered sunshine duration during the mission was about 152 days (about 27% of mission time). The surface of EXPOSE was most likely turned away from the Sun for considerably longer time. [26]
The highest daily averaged absorbed dose rate of 426 μGy per day came from the 'South Atlantic Anomaly' (SAA) region of the inner radiation belt; galactic cosmic rays (GCR) delivered a daily absorbed dose rate of 91.1 μGy per day, and the outer radiation belt (ORB) source delivered 8.6 μGy per day. [27]
Expose-R (R stands for its mounting on the Russian module Zvezda) was mounted by Russian cosmonaut's extravehicular activity on 11 March 2009 and the exposure to outer space conditions continued for 682 days until 21 January 2011, when it was brought back to Earth by the last Discovery Shuttle flight STS-133 on 9 March 2011. EXPOSE-R was equipped with three trays housing eight experiments and 3 radiation dosimeters. Each tray was loaded with a variety of biological organisms including plant seeds and spores of bacteria, fungi and ferns that were exposed to the harsh space environment for about one and a half years. The ROSE (Response of Organisms to Space Environment) group of experiments are under the coordination of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) and has been composed of scientists from different European countries, from United States and from Japan. [1] In its 8 experiments of biological and chemical content, more than 1200 individual samples were exposed to solar ultraviolet (UV) radiations, vacuum, cosmic rays or extreme temperature variations. In their different experiments, the involved scientists are studying the question of life's origin on Earth and the results of their experiments are contributing to different aspects of the evolution and distribution of life in the Universe. [28]
The EXPOSE-R experiments are: [1] [3]
Pictures acquired during the spacewalk #27 on the final day of exposure indicated that many of the 75 small windows had turned brown. The brown film was clearly a deposit which had precipitated inside the windows during the spaceflight. The appearance of the brown film turned out to depend on two prerequisites: solar irradiation and vacuum. [30] As the brown film should have impacted the quantity and quality of solar light that reached the test samples, affecting the core of the scientific goals, an investigation was started to identify the properties and the root cause of the colour change. The brown film contained hydrocarbons, so an inventory was made of materials contained inside Expose-R that could possibly have delivered the contaminating volatiles. [30]
The true chemical identity was not established, but their origin may have been substances added to adhesives, plastics and printed circuit boards. [30]
Since not all the windows developed a contaminating brown film, some experiments were effectively exposed:
A third mission, called EXPOSE-R2, was launched on 24 July 2014 aboard the Russian Progress M-24M, [42] carrying 46 species of bacteria, fungi and arthropods, [43] in 758 different samples that were exposed to different conditions, under different filters, and for various time periods. [44] It was attached on 18 August 2014 to the exterior of the ISS on the Russian module Zvezda , [45] and exposure was finished on 3 February 2016, and were stored inside the ISS until their return to Earth on 18 June 2016. [46] Two main experiments (BIOMEX and BOSS) tested a desert strain of cyanobacterium called Chroococcidiopsis and Deinococcus geothermalis , [47] [48] as well as bacteria, yeast (including Kombucha culture, [49] [50] ) archaea, algae, fungi, lichens and mosses, while the Biochip experiment will test affinity receptors to biomolecules. The organisms and organic compounds were exposed to partial and full space conditions for 12 to 18 months, and were returned to Earth in early 2016 for analyses. [6] [51]
Astrobiology is a scientific field within the life and environmental sciences that studies the origins, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe by investigating its deterministic conditions and contingent events. As a discipline, astrobiology is founded on the premise that life may exist beyond Earth.
Panspermia is the hypothesis that life exists throughout the Universe, distributed by space dust, meteoroids, asteroids, comets, and planetoids, as well as by spacecraft carrying unintended contamination by microorganisms, known as directed panspermia. The theory argues that life did not originate on Earth, but instead evolved somewhere else and seeded life as we know it.
The possibility of life on Mars is a subject of interest in astrobiology due to the planet's proximity and similarities to Earth. To date, no conclusive evidence of past or present life has been found on Mars. Cumulative evidence suggests that during the ancient Noachian time period, the surface environment of Mars had liquid water and may have been habitable for microorganisms, but habitable conditions do not necessarily indicate life.
In 1976 two identical Viking program landers each carried four types of biological experiments to the surface of Mars. The first successful Mars landers, Viking 1 and Viking 2, then carried out experiments to look for biosignatures of microbial life on Mars. The landers each used a robotic arm to pick up and place soil samples into sealed test containers on the craft.
Planetary protection is a guiding principle in the design of an interplanetary mission, aiming to prevent biological contamination of both the target celestial body and the Earth in the case of sample-return missions. Planetary protection reflects both the unknown nature of the space environment and the desire of the scientific community to preserve the pristine nature of celestial bodies until they can be studied in detail.
The Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment was an interplanetary mission developed by the Planetary Society. It consisted of sending selected microorganisms on a three-year interplanetary round-trip in a small capsule aboard the Russian Fobos-Grunt spacecraft in 2011, which was a failed sample-return mission to the Martian moon Phobos. The Fobos-Grunt mission failed to leave Earth orbit and was destroyed.
EXPORT is an exobiology project led by the European Space Agency, that deployed an external module to the International Space Station to study the photo-processing of organic molecules and the survival of some micro-organisms, as well as the effect of solar UV on unshielded organic molecules and micro-organisms while exposed to outer space.
The O/OREOS is a NASA automated CubeSat nanosatellite laboratory approximately the size of a loaf of bread that contains two separate astrobiology experiments on board. Developed by the Small Spacecraft Division at NASA Ames Research Center, the spacecraft was successfully launched as a secondary payload on STP-S26 led by the Space Test Program of the United States Air Force on a Minotaur IV launch vehicle from Kodiak Island, Alaska on 20 November 2010, at 01:25:00 UTC.
Interplanetary contamination refers to biological contamination of a planetary body by a space probe or spacecraft, either deliberate or unintentional.
Chroococcidiopsis is a photosynthetic, coccoidal bacterium, and the only genus in the order Chroococcidiopsidales and in the family Chroococcidiopsidaceae. A diversity of species and cultures exist within the genus, with a diversity of phenotypes. Some extremophile members of Chroococcidiopsis are known for their ability to survive harsh environmental conditions, including both high and low temperatures, ionizing radiation, and high salinity.
Icebreaker Life is a Mars lander mission concept proposed to NASA's Discovery Program. The mission involves a stationary lander that would be a near copy of the successful 2008 Phoenix and InSight spacecraft, but would carry an astrobiology scientific payload, including a drill to sample ice-cemented ground in the northern plains to conduct a search for biosignatures of current or past life on Mars.
BIOPAN is a multi-user research program by the European Space Agency (ESA) designed to investigate the effect of the space environment on biological material. The experiments in BIOPAN are exposed to solar and cosmic radiation, the space vacuum and weightlessness, or a selection thereof. Optionally, the experiment temperature can be stabilized. BIOPAN hosts astrobiology, radiobiology and materials science experiments.
Exobiology Radiation Assembly (ERA) was an experiment that investigated the biological effects of space radiation. An astrobiology mission developed by the European Space Agency (ESA), it took place aboard the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA), an unmanned 4.5 tonne satellite with a payload of 15 experiments.
Deinococcus geothermalis is a non-pathogenic, sphere-shaped, Gram-positive, heterotrophic bacterium, where geothermalis means 'hot earth' or 'hot springs'. This bacterium was first obtained from the hot springs of Agnano, Naples, Italy and São Pedro do Sul, Portugal. It resides primarily in hot springs and in deep ocean environments.
The Tanpopo mission is an orbital astrobiology experiment investigating the potential interplanetary transfer of life, organic compounds, and possible terrestrial particles in the low Earth orbit. The purpose is to assess the panspermia hypothesis and the possibility of natural interplanetary transport of microbial life as well as prebiotic organic compounds.
OREOcube is an experiment designed by the European Space Agency (ESA) with the NASA that will investigate the effects of solar and cosmic radiation on selected organic compounds. It will consist in a 12-month orbital study of the effects of the outer space environment on astrobiologically relevant materials in an external exposure facility on the International Space Station (ISS).
Exposing Microorganisms in the Stratosphere (E-MIST) is a NASA study to determine if a specific microorganism could survive conditions like those on the planet Mars. The study transported Bacillus pumilus bacteria and their spores by helium-filled balloon to the stratosphere of Earth and monitored the ability of the microorganisms to survive in extreme Martian-like conditions such as low pressure, dryness, cold, and ionizing radiation.
Daniela Billi is an Italian astrobiologist working at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. She is known for her work on desert cyanobacteria of the genus Chroococcidiopsis.
Astro microbiology, or exo microbiology, is the study of microorganisms in outer space. It stems from an interdisciplinary approach, which incorporates both microbiology and astrobiology. Astrobiology's efforts are aimed at understanding the origins of life and the search for life other than on Earth. Because microorganisms are the most widespread form of life on Earth, and are capable of colonising almost any environment, scientists usually focus on microbial life in the field of astrobiology. Moreover, small and simple cells usually evolve first on a planet rather than larger, multicellular organisms, and have an increased likelihood of being transported from one planet to another via the panspermia theory.
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