Tanpopo: Astrobiology Exposure and Micrometeoroid Capture Experiments— Proposed Experiments at the Exposure Facility of ISS-JEM

Yamagishi, Akihiko; Yokobori, Shin‐ichi; Hashimoto, Hirofumi; Yano, Hajime; Higashide, Masumi; Tabata, M.; Imai, Eiichi; Yabuta, Hikaru; Kobayashi, Kensei; Kawai, H.

doi:10.2322/tastj.12.tk_49

Cited by 12 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…radiodurans ensures its potential to survive in the harsh outer space environment during interplanetary transfer. The Tanpopo, which means dandelion in Japanese, mission [ 5 ] includes a long-term exposure (separate experiments between one to three years) of D . radiodurans on the Japan Experimental Module of the International Space Station (ISS) in the low Earth orbit (LEO).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It was shown that, even though D . radiodurans possesses high tolerance against UVC radiation, direct exposure of monolayers to LEO conditions results in no survival [ 5 ]. However, aggregated Deinococci cells exposed to UVC radiation showed that they should withstand solar UV radiation on the ISS for one year as multilayers of dehydrated cells, and survive, wherein upper cellular layers cover and protect underlying inner cells.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Proteometabolomic response of Deinococcus radiodurans exposed to UVC and vacuum conditions: Initial studies prior to the Tanpopo space mission

et al. 2017

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The multiple extremes resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans is able to withstand harsh conditions of simulated outer space environment. The Tanpopo orbital mission performs a long-term space exposure of D. radiodurans aiming to investigate the possibility of interplanetary transfer of life. The revealing of molecular machinery responsible for survivability of D. radiodurans in the outer space environment can improve our understanding of underlying stress response mechanisms. In this paper, we have evaluated the molecular response of D. radiodurans after the exposure to space-related conditions of UVC irradiation and vacuum. Notably, scanning electron microscopy investigations showed that neither morphology nor cellular integrity of irradiated cells was affected, while integrated proteomic and metabolomic analysis revealed numerous molecular alterations in metabolic and stress response pathways. Several molecular key mechanisms of D. radiodurans, including the tricarboxylic acid cycle, the DNA damage response systems, ROS scavenging systems and transcriptional regulators responded in order to cope with the stressful situation caused by UVC irradiation under vacuum conditions. These results reveal the effectiveness of the integrative proteometabolomic approach as a tool in molecular analysis of microbial stress response caused by space-related factors.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proteometabolomic response of Deinococcus radiodurans exposed to UVC and vacuum conditions: Initial studies prior to the Tanpopo space mission

et al. 2017

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“…Previously we succeeded in reliably producing hydrophobic and monolithic aerogel tiles with ρ = 0.01 g cm −3 [4]. We planned to use this 0.01 g cm −3 aerogel at least as the upper-most layer of the aerogel capture medium [9,10,11].…”

Section: Requirements For the Tanpopo Aerogelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultralow-density double-layer silica aerogel fabrication for the intact capture of cosmic dust in low-Earth orbits

Tabata

Kawai

Yano

et al. 2015

J Sol-Gel Sci Technol

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The fabrication of an ultralow-density hydrophobic silica aerogel for the intact capture cosmic dust during the Tanpopo mission is described. The Tanpopo experiment performed on the International Space Station orbiting the Earth includes the collection of terrestrial and interplanetary dust samples on a silica aerogel capture medium exposed to space for later ground-based biological and chemical analyses. The key to the mission's success is the development of highperformance capture media, and the major challenge is to satisfy the mechanical requirements as a spacecraft payload while maximizing the performance for intact capture. To this end, an ultralow-density (0.01 g cm −3 ) soft aerogel was employed in combination with a relatively robust 0.03 g cm −3 aerogel. A procedure was also established for the mass production of doublelayer aerogel tiles formed with a 0.01 g cm −3 surface open-topped, box-shaped base layer, and 60 aerogel tiles were manufactured. The fabricated aerogel tiles have been demonstrated to be suitable as flight hardware with respect to both scientific and safety requirements.

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“…Amino acids in the aerogel with a track made by the impact were analyzed after digestion with 5 M HF-0.1 M HCl and acid-hydrolysis. These simulations showed that AABA could be recovered in the aerogel tracks (Yamagishi et al, 2011). Alteration of complex organics in meteorites during capture of Murchison meteorite powder with aerogel was also studied.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Scientific Targets of Tanpopo: Astrobiology Exposure and Micrometeoroid Capture Experiments at the Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility of the International Space Station

et al. 2021

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The Tanpopo experiment was the first Japanese astrobiology mission on board the Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility on the International Space Station (ISS). The experiments were designed to address two important astrobiological topics, panspermia and the chemical evolution process toward the generation of life. These experiments also tested low-density aerogel and monitored the microdebris environment around low Earth orbit. The following six subthemes were identified to address these goals: ( 1) Capture of microbes in space: Estimation of the upper limit of microbe density in low Earth orbit; (2) Exposure of microbes in space: Estimation of the survival time course of microbes in the space environment; (3) Capture of cosmic dust on the ISS and analysis of organics: Detection of the possible presence of organic compounds in cosmic dust; (4) Alteration of organic compounds in space environments: Evaluation of decomposition time courses of organic compounds in space; (5) Space verification of the Tanpopo hyper-low-density aerogel: Durability and particlecapturing capability of aerogel; (6) Monitoring of the number of space debris: Time-dependent change in space debris environment. Subthemes 1 and 2 address the panspermia hypothesis, whereas 3 and 4 address the chemical evolution. The last two subthemes contribute to space technology development. Some of the results have been published previously or are included in this issue. This article summarizes the current status of the Tanpopo experiments.

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Tanpopo: Astrobiology Exposure and Micrometeoroid Capture Experiments— Proposed Experiments at the Exposure Facility of ISS-JEM

Cited by 12 publications

References 39 publications

Proteometabolomic response of Deinococcus radiodurans exposed to UVC and vacuum conditions: Initial studies prior to the Tanpopo space mission

Proteometabolomic response of Deinococcus radiodurans exposed to UVC and vacuum conditions: Initial studies prior to the Tanpopo space mission

Ultralow-density double-layer silica aerogel fabrication for the intact capture of cosmic dust in low-Earth orbits

Scientific Targets of Tanpopo: Astrobiology Exposure and Micrometeoroid Capture Experiments at the Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility of the International Space Station

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