Planetary Atmosphere and Surfaces Chamber (PASC): A Platform to Address Various Challenges in Astrobiology

Abstract

The study of planetary environments of astrobiological interest has become a major challenge. Because of the obvious technical and economical limitations on in situ planetary exploration, laboratory simulations are one of the most feasible research options to make advances both in planetary science and in developing a consistent description of the origin of life. With this objective in mind, we applied vacuum technology to the design of versatile vacuum chambers devoted to the simulation of planetary atmospheres' conditions. These vacuum chambers are able to simulate atmospheres and surface temperatures representative of the majority of planetary objects, and they are especially appropriate for studying the physical, chemical and biological changes induced in a particular sample by in situ irradiation or physical parameters in a controlled environment. Vacuum chambers are a promising potential tool in several scientific and technological fields, such as engineering, chemistry, geology and biology. They also offer the possibility of discriminating between the effects of individual physical parameters and selected combinations thereof. The implementation of our vacuum chambers in combination with analytical techniques was specifically developed to make feasible the in situ physico-chemical characterization of samples. Many wide-ranging applications in astrobiology are detailed herein to provide an understanding of the potential and flexibility of these experimental systems. Instruments and engineering technology for space applications could take advantage of our environment-simulation chambers for sensor calibration. Our systems also provide the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the chemical reactivity of molecules on surfaces under different environments, thereby leading to a greater understanding of interface processes in prebiotic chemical reactions and facilitating studies of UV photostability and photochemistry on surfaces. Furthermore, OPEN ACCESSChallenges 2014, 5 214 the stability and presence of certain minerals on planetary surfaces and the potential habitability of microorganisms under various planetary environmental conditions can be studied using our apparatus. Therefore, these simulation chambers can address multiple different challenging and multidisciplinary astrobiological studies.

A New Remote Sensing-Based System for the Monitoring and Analysis of Growth and Gas Exchange Rates of Photosynthetic Microorganisms Under Simulated Non-Terrestrial Conditions

“…Such chambers should also allow easy monitoring of microorganisms' survival, growth, and gas exchange responses. Several simulator chambers have been realized and utilized so far for the simulation of Mars and other beyond-Earth environments (Tarasashvili et al, 2013;Mateo-Marti, 2014), with few of them also able to test aqueous cultures with metabolically active organisms (Martin and Cockell, 2015). Most of these simulator chambers, however, are complex facilities that do not allowing organism's growth but only to test their survival under non-terrestrial conditions, with FIGURE 4 | Synechocystis sp.…”

Constraining the preservation of organic compounds in Mars analog nontronites after exposure to acid and alkaline fluids

“…The UV flux measured at the sample position, obtained by integration of the irradiance over the 200-400 nm wavelength range, is 2.3 × 10 14 photons/cm 2 s, which corresponds to F = 2.3 × 10 14 (6 eV photons) cm −2 s −1 , about 10 times lower than the UV flux on the Martian surface. Further details about the technical characteristics of the UV lamp and the chamber are described elsewhere 31 . Additionally, the simulation chamber is equipped with a Raman spectrometer allowing in situ characterization of the samples under study.…”

“…Here, we investigated whether the exposure to distinct external fluids (i.e., alkaline and acid) can affect the organic preservation capacity of nontronites under Mars-like conditions (PCO 2 atm ~ 7 mbar and high fluxes of UV radiation) at the Planetary Atmospheres and Surfaces simulation Chamber (PASC) 31 using glycine as a biomarker (see “ Methods ”). Previous studies confirmed that glycine is rapidly degraded under simulated Martian conditions 32 , 33 , but its destruction rate was substantially reduced when it was embedded in nontronite 13 .…”

Raman Laser Spectrometer (RLS) calibration target design to allow onboard combined science between the RLS and MicrOmega instruments on the ExoMars rover

“…The RLS CT will be enclosed behind several metallic layers in a very dark environment protecting internal parts from the ionizing radiation. Nevertheless, a UV radiation test was performed on the PET by means of the Planetary Atmosphere and Surfaces Chamber , which simulates Mars environmental conditions, including UV radiation. A 1‐cm diameter, 5 mm thick PET sample extracted from the RLS CT PET construction batch was subjected to continuous UV illumination for 130 hr with an irradiance on the sample of 30 W/cm 2 .…”