Investigation Of The Survivability Of Bacillus Subtilis Spores Under Space And Martian Conditions In The ESA Facility BIOPAN During FOTON Missions

Paper number

IAC-07-A1.5.-A1.7.02

Author

Dr. Petra Rettberg, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany

Year

2007

Abstract

A particular focus of current astrobiological research is the search for past or present life on Mars. This is mainly based on the fact that the early histories of Mars and Earth show similarities during the period when life emerged on Earth. Therefore, a comparable early biological evolution might have taken place also on Mars. 
The interference of Martian soil components and the intense and nearly unfiltered Martian solar UV radiation with spores of Bacillus subtilis were tested in space experiment MARSTOX I in the ESA facility BIOPAN during the FOTON M-2 mission in 2005. By use of exterrestrial UV radiation and different cut-off filters the photoprotection and UV-phototoxicity of different minerals of the Martian soil was investigated. The  new experiment MARSTOX II of the FOTON M-3 mission will be a further step in the study of the Responses of Organisms to the Martian Environment (ROME) which also encompasses systematic ground-based studies in Mars simulation chambers. In this advanced experiment two new aspects will be addressed: (i) the influence of different concentrations of dust in the Martian atmosphere, which change the solar irradiance on the surface significantly, and (ii) the participation of trace amounts of water in the photochemical and photobiological reactions under Martian conditions will be examined. After exposure in space in the existing hardware for BIOPAN the analysis of the samples will be performed at CEA in Grenoble and at DLR in Cologne together with parallel samples from the corresponding ground control experiment performed in the space simulation facilities at DLR. As biological endpoints in these investigations survival, UV-induced DNA-photoproducts and gene expression in B. subtilis after germination will be analysed.
The results from MARSTOX II will give new insights into the survivability of terrestrial organisms on Mars and will help to define adequate planetary protection measures for spacecrafts with astrobiological experiments like Mars landers.

Abstract document

IAC-07-A1.5.-A1.7.02.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-07-A1.5.-A1.7.02.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.