| 1. |
- Baqué, Mickael, et al.
(författare)
-
Biosignature stability in space enables their use for life detection on Mars
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Science Advances. - : NLM (Medline). - 2375-2548. ; 8:36
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Two rover missions to Mars aim to detect biomolecules as a sign of extinct or extant life with, among other instruments, Raman spectrometers. However, there are many unknowns about the stability of Raman-detectable biomolecules in the martian environment, clouding the interpretation of the results. To quantify Raman-detectable biomolecule stability, we exposed seven biomolecules for 469 days to a simulated martian environment outside the International Space Station. Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) strongly changed the Raman spectra signals, but only minor change was observed when samples were shielded from UVR. These findings provide support for Mars mission operations searching for biosignatures in the subsurface. This experiment demonstrates the detectability of biomolecules by Raman spectroscopy in Mars regolith analogs after space exposure and lays the groundwork for a consolidated space-proven database of spectroscopy biosignatures in targeted environments.
|
|
| 2. |
- de Vera, Jean-Pierre, et al.
(författare)
-
Limits of Life and the Habitability of Mars : The ESA Space Experiment BIOMEX on the ISS
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Astrobiology. - : Mary Ann Liebert. - 1531-1074 .- 1557-8070. ; 19:2, s. 145-157
-
Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- BIOMEX (BIOlogy and Mars EXperiment) is an ESA/Roscosmos space exposure experiment housed within the exposure facility EXPOSE-R2 outside the Zvezda module on the International Space Station (ISS). The design of the multiuser facility supports-among others-the BIOMEX investigations into the stability and level of degradation of space-exposed biosignatures such as pigments, secondary metabolites, and cell surfaces in contact with a terrestrial and Mars analog mineral environment. In parallel, analysis on the viability of the investigated organisms has provided relevant data for evaluation of the habitability of Mars, for the limits of life, and for the likelihood of an interplanetary transfer of life (theory of lithopanspermia). In this project, lichens, archaea, bacteria, cyanobacteria, snow/permafrost algae, meristematic black fungi, and bryophytes from alpine and polar habitats were embedded, grown, and cultured on a mixture of martian and lunar regolith analogs or other terrestrial minerals. The organisms and regolith analogs and terrestrial mineral mixtures were then exposed to space and to simulated Mars-like conditions by way of the EXPOSE-R2 facility. In this special issue, we present the first set of data obtained in reference to our investigation into the habitability of Mars and limits of life. This project was initiated and implemented by the BIOMEX group, an international and interdisciplinary consortium of 30 institutes in 12 countries on 3 continents. Preflight tests for sample selection, results from ground-based simulation experiments, and the space experiments themselves are presented and include a complete overview of the scientific processes required for this space experiment and postflight analysis. The presented BIOMEX concept could be scaled up to future exposure experiments on the Moon and will serve as a pretest in low Earth orbit.
|
|
| 3. |
- Jönsson, K. Ingemar, 1959-, et al.
(författare)
-
Tardigrades survive exposure to space in low earth orbit
- 2008
-
Ingår i: Current Biology. - 0960-9822 .- 1879-0445. ; 18:17, s. R729-R731
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Vacuum (imposing extreme dehydration) and solar/galactic cosmic radiation prevent survival of most organisms in space . Only anhydrobiotic organisms, which have evolved adaptations to survive more or less complete desiccation, have a potential to survive space vacuum, and few organisms can stand the unfiltered solar radiation in space. Tardigrades, commonly known as water-bears, are among the most desiccation and radiation-tolerant animals and have been shown to survive extreme levels of ionizing radiation. Here, we show that tardigrades are also able to survive space vacuum without loss in survival, and that some specimens even recovered after combined exposure to space vacuum and solar radiation. These results add the first animal to the exclusive and short list of organisms that have survived such exposure.
|
|
| 4. |
- Jönsson, K. Ingemar, et al.
(författare)
-
Tardigrades survive exposure to space in low earth orbit
- 2008
-
Ingår i: Current Biology. - : Cell Press. - 0960-9822 .- 1879-0445. ; 18:17, s. R729-R731
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Vacuum (imposing extreme dehydration) and solar/galactic cosmic radiation prevent survival of most organisms in space . Only anhydrobiotic organisms, which have evolved adaptations to survive more or less complete desiccation, have a potential to survive space vacuum, and few organisms can stand the unfiltered solar radiation in space. Tardigrades, commonly known as water-bears, are among the most desiccation and radiation-tolerant animals and have been shown to survive extreme levels of ionizing radiation. Here, we show that tardigrades are also able to survive space vacuum without loss in survival, and that some specimens even recovered after combined exposure to space vacuum and solar radiation. These results add the first animal to the exclusive and short list of organisms that have survived such exposure.
|
|
| 5. |
- Jönsson, K. Ingemar, 1959-, et al.
(författare)
-
The fate of the TARDIS offspring : no intergenerational effects of space exposure
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. - 0024-4082 .- 1096-3642. ; 178:4, s. 924-930
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In September 2007 tardigrades became the first animal in history to survive the combined effect of exposure to space vacuum, cosmic radiation and ultraviolet radiation in low Earth orbit. The main results from this experiment were reported in 2008, but some of the results have remained unpublished. Here we report that descendant generations of space-exposed tardigrades of the species Milnesium tardigradum did not show reduced performance. This indicates that individual tardigrades that survived the exposure to environmental extremes in space, and were able to reproduce, did not transfer any damage to later generations. Repair of environmentally induced damage may therefore follow a ‘make or break’ rule, such that a damaged animal either fails to repair all damage and dies, or repairs damage successfully and leaves no mutations to descendants. We also report that two additional tardigrade species, Echiniscus testudo and Ramazzottius oberhaeuseri, showed high survival after exposure to space vacuum and cosmic radiation within the TARDIS experiment.
|
|
| 6. |
- Jönsson, K. Ingemar, et al.
(författare)
-
The fate of the TARDIS offspring : no intergenerational effects of space exposure in Milnesium tardigradum
- 2015
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- In September 2007 tardigrades became the first animal in the history to survive the combined effect of exposure to space vacuum, cosmic radiation, and ultra-violet radiation in low Earth orbit. The main results from this experiment were reported in 2008, but some of the results have remained unpublished. Here we report that no delayed effects of the exposure to space could be detected in the descendants (up to F3 generation) of space exposed Milnesium tardigradum. This indicates that individual tardigrades that survived the damage induced by environmental agents in space, and were able to reproduce, did not transfer any delayed damage to later generations. Repair of environmentally induced damage may therefore follow a “make or break” rule, such that a damaged animal either fails to repair all damage and dies, or repairs damage successfully and leaves no mutations to descendants. We also provide previously unreported data on two tardigrade species, Echiniscus testudo and Ramazzottius oberhaeuseri, that showed high survival after exposure to space vacuum and cosmic radiation within the TARDIS experiment.
|
|
| 7. |
- Jönsson, K. Ingemar, et al.
(författare)
-
The fate of the TARDIS offspring : no intergenerational effects of space exposure
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 0024-4082 .- 1096-3642. ; 178:4, s. 924-930
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In September 2007 tardigrades became the first animal in history to survive the combined effect of exposure to space vacuum, cosmic radiation and ultraviolet radiation in low Earth orbit. The main results from this experiment were reported in 2008, but some of the results have remained unpublished. Here we report that descendant generations of space-exposed tardigrades of the species Milnesium tardigradum did not show reduced performance. This indicates that individual tardigrades that survived the exposure to environmental extremes in space, and were able to reproduce, did not transfer any damage to later generations. Repair of environmentally induced damage may therefore follow a make or break' rule, such that a damaged animal either fails to repair all damage and dies, or repairs damage successfully and leaves no mutations to descendants. We also report that two additional tardigrade species, Echiniscus testudo and Ramazzottius oberhaeuseri, showed high survival after exposure to space vacuum and cosmic radiation within the TARDIS experiment.
|
|
| 8. |
- Jönsson, K. Ingemar, et al.
(författare)
-
The fate of the TARDIS offspring : no intergenerational effects of space exposure in Milnesium tardigradum
- 2015
-
Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In September 2007 tardigrades became the first animal in the history to survive the combined effect of exposure to space vacuum, cosmic radiation, and ultra-violet radiation in low Earth orbit. The main results from this experiment were reported in 2008, but some of the results have remained unpublished. Here we report that no delayed effects of the exposure to space could be detected in the descendants (up to F3 generation) of space exposed Milnesium tardigradum. This indicates that individual tardigrades that survived the damage induced by environmental agents in space, and were able to reproduce, did not transfer any delayed damage to later generations. Repair of environmentally induced damage may therefore follow a “make or break” rule, such that a damaged animal either fails to repair all damage and dies, or repairs damage successfully and leaves no mutations to descendants. We also provide previously unreported data on two tardigrade species, Echiniscus testudo and Ramazzottius oberhaeuseri, that showedhigh survival after exposure to space vacuum and cosmic radiation within the TARDIS experiment.
|
|
