EXPOSE, an Astrobiological Exposure Facility on the International Space Station - from Proposal to Flight

Rabbow, Elke; Horneck, G.; Rettberg, Petra; Schott, J. U.; Panitz, Corinna; L’Afflitto, Andrea; Heise-Rotenburg, Ralf von; Willnecker, R.; Baglioni, P.; Hatton, Jason; Dettmann, Jan; Demets, R.; Reitz, Günther

doi:10.1007/s11084-009-9173-6

Cited by 111 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Advanced exposure facilities with up to four times the capacity of the ES029 experiment of SL 1 were developed by the ▶ European Space Agency (ESA) with the Exobiology Radiation Assembly (ERA) for the ▶ EURECA mission (Fig. 3) and the ▶ EXPOSE facilities attached to the ISS (Rabbow et al 2009). One EXPOSE unit consists of three trays (Fig.…”

Section: Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

E

2015

Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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DefinitionThe Earth is the planet on which we live. It is the third planet from the Sun and one of the telluric (small and rocky) planets of our ▶ Solar System. It has a mean radius of 6,371 km and a mean density of 5.515 g cm À3 . It is distinguished from other planets by the presence of ▶ continental crust, oceans, and ▶ life. Its unusually large core and satellite (the Moon) are believed to result from the collision of a Mars-sized body (protoplanet ▶ Theia) about 4.45 Ga ago.

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Section: Overviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

E

2015

Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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“…Five short-duration missions (two weeks) were performed using the Russian Foton spacecraft carrying the European Space Agency (ESA) BIOPAN facility [3]. More recently another ESA facility, called EXPOSE, has provided a long-duration exposure platform (1.5 years) on the International Space Station (ISS), which provides a complete laboratory orbiting Earth at about 400 km [4,5]. New generation astrobiological experiments are being carried out by using nanosatellites, named cubesats [6] that orbit where the radiation dose is significantly higher (at least one order of magnitude) than on the ISS [7].…”

Section: Desert Cyanobacteria and Astrobiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this context, desiccation-, radiation-resistant desert strains of Chroococcidiopsis have been employed in several experimentations in LEO and ground-based simulations of space and Martian conditions in order to investigate the tenancy of life as we know it, to detect biosignatures to search for life on Mars and test the (litho)-Panspermia theory [4,5]. Since cyanobacteria started to introduce oxygen into the Earth atmosphere 2.5 billion years ago, the spectroscopic detection of oxygen in a planet's atmosphere has been suggested as an indicator of the presence of life, exploiting its star as its primary energy source [12].…”

Section: Desert Cyanobacteria and Astrobiologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Cyanobacteria from Extreme Deserts to Space

Billi¹,

Baqué²,

Smith³

et al. 2013

AiM

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The development of space technology makes the exposure of organisms and molecules to the space environment possible by using the ESA Biopan and Expose facilities and NASA nanosatellites; the aim is to decipher the origin, evolution and distribution of life on Earth and in the Universe. The study of microbial communities thriving in lithic habitats in cold and hot deserts is gathering appreciation when dealing with the limits of life as we know it, the identification of biosignatures for searching life beyond Earth and the validation of the (litho)-Panspermia theory. Cyanobacteria of the genus Chroococcidiopsis dominate rock-dwelling communities in extreme deserts that are considered terrestrial analogues of Mars, like the Dry Valleys in Antarctica, the Atacama Desert in Chile or the Mojave Desert in California. The extraordinary tolerance of these cyanobacteria towards desiccation, ionizing and UV radiation makes them suitable experimental strains which have been already used in astrobiological experiments and already selected for future space missions. Evidence gained so far supports the use of desert cyanobacteria to develop life support systems and in-situ resource utilization for the human space exploration and settlement on the Moon or Mars.

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“…The theoretical one constructs mathematical or physical model which supports the life or analyzes the physical, chemical parameters of the planets in terms of the evolution or the interplanetary transport of life [1][2][3]. The experimental astrobiology uses possible terrestrial model of specific planets, like deserts, permafrost, simulation chambers etc [4][5][6][7][8][9]. These provide environmental parameters similar to the space and to the specific planet respectively, while the in situ measurements allow studying the life conditions directly in the specific environment [10][11][12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological ultraviolet Dosimetry in Low Earth’s Orbit

Egyeki¹

2013

Astrobiol Outreach

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The biological dosimetry of the solar UV radiation functioned correctly on the Earth's surface. The aim of the present studies was to extend the dosimetry to the extraterrestrial solar radiation in LEO. Similar to the Earth's surface bacteriophage T7 and polycrystalline uracil thin layers were used as detectors and exposed to the simulated and to the real space environmental parameters aiming to perform the in situ biological UV dosimetry in the space, more exactly on the external pallet of the ISS. The UV detectors have been used in specific cases in thin layer form. In contrast to the Earth's surface the extraterrestrial solar UV radiations contains wavelength components (λ ~ 190-200 nm), which cause photolesions (photoproducts) in the nucleic acids/their components similar to the UV-B photons. However, these wavelengths cause not only photolesions but with a wavelength-dependent efficiency the reversion of some photolesion, too. Our biological detectors measured either in simulation or in situ conditions the resultant of both reactions induced by the extraterrestrial UV radiation. From this aspect the role of the photoreversion in the extension of the biological UV dosimetry and in the survival of the living systems in the space are discussed.

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EXPOSE, an Astrobiological Exposure Facility on the International Space Station - from Proposal to Flight

Cited by 111 publications

References 34 publications

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Cyanobacteria from Extreme Deserts to Space

Biological ultraviolet Dosimetry in Low Earth’s Orbit

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