Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Saccharomyces”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 325 records · Page 18
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2014

BioSentinel: Monitoring DNA Damage Repair Beyond Low Earth Orbit on a 6U Nanosatellite

We are designing and developing a 6U nanosatellite as a secondary payload to fly aboard NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) Exploration Mission (EM) 1, scheduled for launch in late 2017. For the first time in over forty years, direct experimental data from biological studies beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) will be obtained during BioSentinels 12- to 18-month mission. BioSentinel will measure the damage and repair of DNA in a biological organism and allow us to compare that to information from onboard physical radiation sensors. This data will be available for validation of existing models and for extrapolation to humans.The BioSentinel experiment will use the organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) to report DNA double-strand-break (DSB) events that result from space radiation. DSB repair exhibits striking conservation of repair proteins from yeast to humans. The flight strain will include engineered genetic defects that prevent growth and division until a radiation-induced DSB activates the yeasts DNA repair mechanisms. The triggered culture growth and metabolic activity directly indicate a DSB and its repair. The yeast will be carried in the dry state in independent microwells with support electronics. The measurement subsystem will sequentially activate and monitor wells, optically tracking cell growth and metabolism. BioSentinel will also include TimePix radiation sensors implemented by JSCs RadWorks group. Dose and Linear Energy Transfer (LET) data will be compared directly to the rate of DSB-and-repair events measured by the S. cerevisiae biosentinels. BioSentinel will mature nanosatellite technologies to include: deep space communications and navigation, autonomous attitude control and momentum management, and micropropulsion systems to provide an adaptable nanosatellite platform for deep space uses.

cosmic rays↗
NASA NTRS2017

Spectrum

Spectrum is a multispectral fluorescence imager designed for capturing in vivo genetic expression in a variety of biological organisms, providing a capability that does not currently exist on the International Space Station (ISS). Researching organisms that have been transformed with in vivo reporter genes ligated with fluorescent proteins allows the scientific community to further understand the fundamental biological responses of these organisms when subjected to space environments. Model organisms that may utilize multispectral imaging on the ISS include unicellular organisms (e.g. Saccharomyces cerevisiae), plants (e.g. Arabidopsis thaliana), and invertebrates (e.g. Caenorhabditis elegans).

Levine, Howard G.↗
NASA NTRS2018

BioSentinel: Optimizing Growth Conditions for Improved Yeast Cell Viability After Long-Term Desiccation

NASA's BioSentinel mission is one of thirteen secondary payloads to be deployed on the Space Launch System Exploration Mission-1 (SLS EM-1). The BioSentinel nanosatellite will be sent into a heliocentric orbit beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO), to study the effects of deep space radiation on the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Ionizing radiation encountered in deep space can create damaging lesions in DNA, including double strand breaks (DSBs). Budding yeast is suitable as a biological model to study these effects, as it is eukaryotic, and can be desiccated for prolonged periods while retaining viability, thus serving as a robust analog for human cells. On the ground, yeast cells are grown in liquid medium, then loaded into the wells of microfluidic cards and air dried prior to integration into the payload. Once the spacecraft reaches its target heliocentric orbit, a mixture of growth medium and metabolic indicator dye will be pumped into the microwells at specific time points to rehydrate the cells and allow them to grow. A 3-color LED detection system will measure changes in growth and metabolism resulting from ionizing radiation exposure. BioSentinel contains a wild type control strain and a rad51 mutant that is defective for DNA damage repair. In this study, we will determine the optimal amount of time to grow diploid yeast cells in liquid culture before they are desiccated for space flight. After an extended time in stationary phase, they become more tolerant to desiccation due to stress caused by nitrogen starvation. However, excessive exposure can lead to loss of viability and to a heterogeneous cell population due to sporulation. Since viability loss during desiccation poses a risk to mission success, a stress preconditioning process during initial growth may increase long-term cell viability. To determine the growth period that improves desiccation tolerance but allows for retention of uniform radiation sensitivity, we will grow both strains in liquid medium for a varying number of days (4 to 7), desiccate the cells, and then observe changes to cell viability and ionizing radiation sensitivity over time. Supported by the Space Life Sciences Training Program at NASA Ames Research Center.

Cui, Kaixin↗
NASA NTRS2015

Synthetic Fungal Strains for Solar System Exploration and Colonization

Solar system exploration and eventual colonization efforts are constrained by limits on the mass of material that can embark from Earth. Thus, creative use of the resources available in situ could reduce mission costs and extend the scope of such activities. To that end, we are developing synthetic fungal strains to produce specialized materials from the resources found throughout the solar system. A primary goal is to develop a suite of Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains to serve as generic production chassis for synthetic metabolic pathways. These strains must perform consistently upon challenge by unique conditions including exposure to microgravity, cosmic radiation, the rigors of launch and re-entry, and long-term stasis. Presently, we are establishing systematic datasets profiling epigenetic, transcriptional, translational and metabolic states of S. cerevisiae under relevant operating conditions. These will deepen our understanding of the physiological changes associated with space travel and enable rational engineering of optimal production strains.

Biotechnology↗
NASA NTRS2019

Bionutrients-1, On-Demand Production of Nutrients in Space

Future long-duration missions face significant challenges maintaining crew health. A critical area is supplying adequate nutrition, as certain vitamins and nutrients in supplied foods and supplements demonstrate substantial degradation during extended storage. To address this issue, we are developing and flight-testing a platform technology that demonstrates in situ microbial production of targeted nutrients over extended mission durations. This 5-year experiment, known as BioNutrients-1, was started on the International Space Station in May 2019. It involves two components: an on-orbit hydration and production experiment; and the development of space-compatible, key bio-manufacturing microorganisms. On-orbit testing utilizes a small “production pack” system that encloses sterile edible growth substrate and desiccated Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains genetically engineered to produce the nutrients beta-carotene or zeaxanthin. On hydration and mixing of the production pack, the organisms revive and grow until limited by the depletion of growth media, hypothetically leading to consistent amounts of biomass and nutrients. In eventual mission applications, the packet contents would be heat treated to inactivate the microorganisms prior to consumption. For these flight experiments, the packet will not be heat treated, but will instead be frozen for return to Earth for analyses. In addition to the production pack trials, 14 different microorganisms/treatments were also delivered to ISS for long-duration storage. These samples will be intermittently returned to Earth and analyzed to determine survival rates and genomics. For this presentation, initial data from returned samples and ground controls will be discussed.

Hindupur, Aditya↗
NASA NTRS2019

BioNutrients-1: On-Demand Production of Nutrients in Space

Future long-duration missions face significant challenges maintaining crew health. A critical area is supplying adequate nutrition, as certain vitamins and nutrients in supplied foods and supplements demonstrate substantial degradation during extended storage. To address this issue, we are developing and flight-testing a platform technology that demonstrates in situ microbial production of targeted nutrients over extended mission durations. This 5-year experiment, known as BioNutrients-1, was started on the International Space Station in May 2019. It involves two components: an on-orbit hydration and production experiment; and the development of space-compatible, key bio-manufacturing microorganisms. On-orbit testing utilizes a small "production pack" system that encloses sterile edible growth substrate and desiccated Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains genetically engineered to produce the nutrients beta-carotene or zeaxanthin. On hydration and mixing of the production pack, the organisms revive and grow until limited by the depletion of growth media, hypothetically leading to consistent amounts of biomass and nutrients. In eventual mission applications, the packet contents would be heat treated to inactivate the microorganisms prior to consumption. For these flight experiments, the packet will not be heat treated, but will instead be frozen for return to Earth for analyses. In addition to the production pack trials, 14 different microorganisms/treatments were also delivered to ISS for long-duration storage. These samples will be intermittently returned to Earth and analyzed to determine survival rates and genomics. For this presentation, initial data from returned samples and ground controls will be discussed.

Hindupur, Aditya↗
NASA NTRS2020

BioSentinel ISS Control Experiment Investigation Summary Form

The main science objective of BioSentinel is to develop biosensors to study the effects of the space radiation environment on biological organisms. Given its similarities to human cells, we decided to use the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Yeast cells share homology to human cells, particularly in the response to DNA damage caused by ionizing radiation. Most importantly, yeast cells can be desiccated and survive in that form for long periods of time. Thus, budding yeast is the ideal model organism for long-term experiments in preparation for future manned missions to deep space. In addition to the ISS mission, our biosensors will fly in a nanosatellite designed for deep space, which is manifested to fly as a secondary payload onboard NASA’s Artemis-1 rocket.

BioSentinel↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

BioNutrients-1: Development of an On-Demand Nutrient Production System for Long-Duration Missions

Future long-duration missions beyond low-Earth orbit will require advances in food technologies to address the documented problem of degradation of vitamins and nutrients in supplied foods stored long-term. To begin to address the issue of nutrient degradation, we are developing and flight-testing a platform biomanufacturing technology for in situ production of target nutrients. This technology is being tested over a five-year duration on the International Space Station (ISS). As part of the BioNutrients-1 project we have developed an on-demand system for the production of two carotenoids, β-carotene and zeaxanthin, by genetically engineering distinct strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, more commonly known as baker’s yeast. The on-orbit nutrient production packs contain a desiccated yeast strain and edible growth substrate. Once hydrated, the contents of the production packs are intended to grow and produce a desired amount of ready-to-consume nutrients. In this current version the production packs will not be consumed and future missions will require an inactivation of microorganisms before consumption. In addition to the on-orbit hydration of the production packs a series of valuable microorganisms are currently being stored in stasis packs on the ISS including probiotics organisms, bacterial strains used in yogurt production, and organisms with potential use for future biomanufacturing. Analysis of returned ISS stasis packs and ground controls will include multi-omics studies and provide insight into long-term survival of organisms stored in a space environment. Both stasis packs and hydrated production packs will be intermittently returned to Earth for analysis. Preliminary data from long-term storage studies of stasis packs stored on the ISS for 47 days versus their ground control counterparts have shown no significant difference in viability. Currently no production packs have been processed.

Yeast↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Investigating the Molecular Response in Irradiated Yeast in Support of the BioSentinel CubeSat Mission

The BioSentinel CubeSat mission is NASA’s first deep space bioscience mission scheduled to fly as a secondary payload onboard Artemis I. BioSentinel seeks to understand the impacts of deep space radiation on living organisms using the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae, or budding yeast. In recent years, the BioSentinel team has conducted ground-based investigations into the effects of ionizing radiation (IR) on budding yeast to better understand spaceflight data. One investigation focuses on the impacts of radiation on budding yeast metabolics using the redox dye alamarBlue, an indicator that will also be used onboard BioSentinel. In this investigation, we have observed metabolic changes in both wild-type and in mutant yeast cells deficient in DNA repair. The focus of our research is to support the ongoing investigation into the molecular mechanisms that explain these observed changes. To do this, we first conducted preliminary research into the metabolic processes of S. cerevisiae to identify any potential vulnerabilities to radiation. We then conducted a statistical kinetic analysis on past experimental metabolic data, in addition to an analysis of data from a multisensor metabolic rig experiment. Ultimately, we identified numerous redox-related changes with increasing doses of radiation in both wild-type and mutant cells. These findings highlight the mitochondrial Electron Transport Chain (ETC) as a potential candidate process to account for these observed changes. Specifically, we are focused on the electron carriers of the ETC, including NADH and FADH2, given their participation in numerous redox mechanisms. We propose future experiments, including NADH assays, an investigation into the glycerol-3-phosphate shuttle, and investigations into other ETC complexes.

BioSentinel↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Improving Data Analyses for a Biological Mission to Deep Interplanetary Space

Onboard the Artemis 1 rocket, NASA plans to launch the first deep space bioscience mission past low Earth orbit (LEO) since 1972, BioSentinel, a 6-Unit (6U) biological CubeSat. BioSentinel’s goals are to assess the effect of deep space ionizing radiation (IR) on DNA and cell damage response, using Saccharomyces cerevisiae, or budding yeast, as a model organism. BioSentinel accomplishes this by measuring Optical Density (OD) in addition to metabolic activity using the redox dye alamarBlue, both of which will be read through light emitting diode (LED) lights of differing wavelengths. With the largest and most sophisticated energy-providing solar panels utilized on a biological CubeSat to date, BioSentinel will be equipped with an IR dosimeter to identify what doses of radiation the yeast is exposed to at any point in time, in addition to a transponder to send such data back to NASA Ames’ Multi Mission Operations Center (MMOC). Biology computational programs and data processing scripts are necessary to analyze this complex data once it is received, including automated subroutines to analyze duplication rate, alamarBlue reduction, and time periods when paired against numerous other variables. Overall, we have implemented several VisualBasic biocomputational programs to analyze such data in an organized and efficient manner so that conclusions can be made rapidly. Furthermore, we showcase why efficient analysis of particular parameters is important to better understand the risks that deep space IR poses to astronauts, especially when considering the upcoming Artemis missions.

Bijan Harandi↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Enabling Single Cell Research in Hollow Hydrogel Microparticles

Studying biology at the single cell level enables novel discoveries through ultra-high throughput identification and isolation of rare cells and interesting subpopulations. Encapsulation of single cells in hollow hydrogel microparticles, or PicoShells, enables easy visualization, manipulation, and assaying of single cells. The PicoShell’s porous hydrogel shell allows diffusion of nutrients and wastes into and out of the hollow liquid core, allowing uninhibited cell growth. The porous shell also allows diffusion of assay reagents, enabling solution changes, and multi-step assays. Finally, single cells and their progeny can be tracked through time, for example to measure single cell growth rates. However, PicoShells are fabricated using microfluidic techniques, which require specialized expertise, equipment, and facilities. This limits PicoShell’s widespread utility for single cell biology. For Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other desiccation-tolerant microbes, desiccating PicoShells containing cells of interest offers a solution, enabling those without microfluidic capabilities to obtain dried, shelf-stable PicoShells containing their cells of interest from a specialized microfluidics facility. Researchers could then rehydrate the PicoShells and perform their single cell assays, bypassing the microfluidic steps. Desiccated PicoShells could also be flown in space, where desiccation is already a common practice for microbes (i.e. BioSentinel and BioNutrients), bringing single cell analysis capabilities to space. In this work, we develop a method to desiccate PicoShells containing S. cerevisiae while maintaining characteristics similar to fresh, non-desiccated PicoShells. We show good microparticle morphology and hydrogel pore size as well as high yeast viability in line with previous studies. We also demonstrate sorting of a fast-growing yeast population using size-based filtration, as S. cerevisiae in PicoShells are able to physically stretch the microparticle as they grow, increasing the PicoShell diameter. These efforts contribute to the feasibility of leveraging microparticle PicoShells for single cell space biology research on Earth and in space.

Simon Ng↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Microbial Factories for Solar System Exploration

As humans venture deeper into space for longer duration missions, resupply missions become far more difficult and costly. To address this, alternative methods of in situ biomanufacturing can be developed to provide a reliable source of required nutrients. BioNutrients is an ongoing project including three separate flight experiments that aims to provide on-demand nutrient production through 5-year shelf stable microbial factories for astronauts on long-duration missions. The BioNutrients-3 (BN-3) flight experiment aims to demonstrate on-orbit food safety, user-friendly production pack design, and multi-compound production capability. This current study seeks to support the multiple compound production element of BN-3 by investigating the production of multiple compounds via multiple pathways in one organism. An experiment has been designed to modify an existing strain of Saccharomyces boulardii designed by the BioNutrients team to efficiently produce β-carotene to also efficiently produce a second nutrient, riboflavin. This experiment entails the random shuffling and recombination of gene elements including promoters and terminators of various strengths to identify optimal combinations for the upregulation of the riboflavin production pathway. Implementation of this experiment would provide insight into the efficiency of the multiple pathways production method and pave the way for additional fine tuning of the riboflavin production pathway and additional nutrient production pathways in S. boulardii.

Biomanufacturing↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

RadBREAD: Radiation Biology Research at an Elevated Altitude through Dosimetry – A student-designed payload

NASA uses extreme environment platforms (ground testing facilities, high-altitude balloons and aircraft, and CubeSats) to provide greater understanding of the conditions and limitations of extra-terrestrial environments. As part of a two-week flight planned for summer 2021, RadBREAD (Radiation Biology Research at an Elevated Altitude through Dosimetry) will fly as a secondary payload consisting of a M-42C (German Aerospace Center, DLR) ionizing radiation dosimeter, UV micro-logger, and multiple desiccated yeast samples. The platform is a novel high-altitude solar-powered aircraft: the Swift Engineering High-Altitude samples. The platform is a novel high-altitude solar-powered aircraft: the Swift Engineering High-Altitude Long-Endurance Unmanned Aircraft System (HALE UAS), which offers significantly longer flight durations than other high-altitude platforms. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae will provide meaningful biological correlation for the sensor readings, due to its resistance to extremely low temperature and pressure when desiccated, ease of genetic manipulation, and homology to human genes. The RadBREAD team comprises the 2020 cohort of NASA’s Space Life Sciences Training Program (SLSTP) research associates as well as NASA scientists, engineers and radiation experts from NASA and the DLR. Yeast survival, metabolic, and transcriptomic changes will be correlated with environmental data collected during long-term exposure to the upper atmosphere. Additionally, the team will evaluate the upper atmospheric environment (radiation, pressure, and temperature) provided by the HALE UAS platform as a Mars surface analog for biological payloads. We hypothesize that exposure to upper atmospheric conditions during the HALE UAS flight will alter the survival, metabolism, and transcriptome of desiccated wild-type S. cerevisiae upon rehydration compared to sensitive and tolerant yeast strains exposed to the same conditions, and between the flight samples compared to asynchronous ground controls.

radiation exposure↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Remodeling BioSentinel’s Microbial Metabolism Measurement System

BioSentinel, the first biological CubeSat beyond low Earth orbit, will investigate how Saccharomyces cerevisiae responds to ionizing radiation using optical measurements of a colorimetric metabolic indicator dye (alamarBlue). To map optical data to more detailed metabolic measurements, a microbial culture system for ground testing was designed consisting of a 400 mL beaker and a rubber stopper with pass-through holes for its five sensor probes (electrical conductivity, pH, oxidation-reduction potential, dissolved oxygen, optical density). The initial design had several drawbacks. It was only partially reusable due to its one-time sealants: Teflon tape and parafilm. A steady increase in oxygen levels within the sensor’s testingdata indicated the design was not sufficiently airtight. Degradation of the rubber stopper’s elasticity due to sterilization and reinsertion of the probes led to poor robustness and eventual replacement. The vessel’s large headspace didn’t reproduce flight conditions and a large culture volume required more reagents. The system has been redesigned to contain a rigid, biocompatible polycarbonate disc lid that allows for threaded inserts. The culture vessel’s height will be reduced from 110 mm to 65 mm to decrease overhead space and material costs. A more reliable seal will be achieved with a gasket and clamps. The optical probe records absorbance at four wavelengths to characterize cell density and alamarBlue dye ratios. A pneumatically operated plunger draws media through the hollow interior of the probe. Currently, deformation of the silicone on the plunger causes asymmetrical movement and a drift from its initial state. Designs are being developed to limit the plunger’s travel for a more accurate measurement cycle. The remodeled system is under construction and will be tested for leaks and accuracy. The measurements collected will be used to provide additional insight into the optical data returned from the BioSentinel mission.

Astrobiology↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Tracking Metabolic Changes in Microbial Culture using Redox Measurements

During long-term space missions, microbial cultures accumulate the effects of low-dose radiation, microgravity, and other factors; altered growth and metabolic activity may occur before viability effects. This could affect functionality of bioreactors or other bio-enabled mission systems, as well as shed light on human health. Spaceflight microbiology studies beyond the low Earth orbit exposure afforded by the ISS have been limited. Nanosatellites offer an increasingly popular alternative for deep space missions. However, the communications delay requires biofluidic automation of a pre-defined experimental protocol, and the lack of sample return (reliance on sensors in flight) can significantly limit feasible investigations. Previous biological CubeSats (PharmaSat, O/OREOS, EcAMSat) have used alamarBlue, an off-the-shelf formulation of the redox indicator dye resazurin, to track metabolic activity, as will BioSentinel, the upcoming interplanetary microbiology experiment. A series of ground experiments (see abstracts by Liddell, Santa Maria, and A. Kim) were conducted using a microbial culture system outfitted with an electrochemical sensor array (electrical conductivity, pH, oxidation-reduction potential, and dissolved oxygen) with alamarBlue and the same strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as BioSentinel. By improving mapping of measured changes in alamarBlue kinetics to physicochemical changes, and ultimately to biological alterations such as shifted metabolic pathways, this work supplements data analyses from past missions and planning for future missions using alamarBlue to characterize space radiation effects. Initial results indicate that alamarBlue acts like a redox buffer; its presence significantly changes redox kinetics in otherwise identical cultures. The initial color change (blue resazurin reduced to red/pink resorufin) appears as a redox plateau. A second plateau, likely corresponding to the second color transition (resorufin to the colorless hydroresorufin), occurs at a lower redox value. The relationship to carbon source exhaustion, dissolved oxygen depletion, cell death, and measured redox potential is complex and still under study.

Tracking↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

AMMPER: Agent-based Model for Microbial Populations Exposed to Radiation

Exposure of microbial populations to galactic cosmic radiation (GCR) in the deep-space radiation environment may lead to intracellular damage that compromises the ability of cells to repair and replicate. While simulation programs of deep-space radiation do exist, they focus primarily on single-cell damage, rather than population-wide effects. In this work, a new application and graphical user interface, Agent-Based Model for Microbial Populations Exposed to Radiation (AMMPER) is presented, which simulates the effects of proton-based GCR on Saccharomyces cerevisiae population growth. AMMPER consists of a 50x50x50 µm simulation space, analogous to an aqueous culture medium with non-limiting nutrient and pH buffering, in a microwell plate or microfluidic culture card. This model utilizes Relativistic Ion Tracks (RITRACKS) to create detailed track structures of the radiation traversals. AMMPER then calculates the radiation dose present at each cell, and subsequently determines the damage (chromosomal aberrations, oxidative stress, etc.) and resulting loss of cell viability from both primary and secondary radiative effects. Through implementing cell replication, repair, damage, and death, the effect of radiation exposure on the population growth can be determined. With AMMPER, long-duration effects of the deep space environment on entire populations can be determined and used to assess the feasibility of sustaining life in space.

Amrita Singh↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

BioSentinel: To the Moon or Beyond?

BioSentinel, an Artemis-1 secondary spacecraft, will carry a biology experiment into deep space for the first time in 50 years. A 6U CubeSat form factor was utilized for the spacecraft and included technologies newly developed or adapted for operations beyond Earth orbit. This is the maiden deep-space voyage for the radio, propulsion system, electrical power system, and BioSensor payload. The spacecraft carries onboard budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as an analog to human cells to test the biological response to deep space radiation. Flying a secondary payload beyond LEO comes with unique challenges with respect to trajectory uncertainty and mission operations planning. BioSentinel does not carry propulsion for trajectory maneuvers, so plans for Comms and Power need to be developed for all trajectories. The nominal plan is a lunar flyby followed by an insertion into Heliocentric orbit. However, some possible scenarios include lunar eclipses that could severely impact the power budget during that phase of the mission, while others could result in a “Retrograde” hyperbola at swingby resulting in the spacecraft traveling inward toward Earth or even towards a collision with the lunar surface. BioSentinel’s final trajectory will not be known until after launch and deployment so possible scenarios need to be planned for ahead of time. This paper discusses the operational scenarios that were planned for as well as the actual execution of the mission operations including: command pass scheduling with the Deep Space Network, selecting bandwidth limits, medium gain antenna versus low gain antenna usage, and conserving power prior to a lunar eclipse. Note: Artemis-1 is planned to launch in the Spring of 2022

BioSentinel↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

BioSentinel: NASA’s First Deep Space Biological Mission

Since Apollo 17 in 1972, NASA has sent no humans or other biological organisms outside of Earth’s protective magnetosphere. NASA’s current Artemis program plans to put astronauts back on the Moon and eventually land human missions on Mars. One of the major challenges to long-duration crewed travel and habitation in deep space is an in-depth understanding of the biological effects of space radiation, often convoluted by the impact of reduced gravity. Such missions will require significant countermeasures, likely both technological and biomedical, to protect organisms from chronic radiation exposure. Small satellite missions like CubeSats can inform these countermeasures by investigating model organisms in relevant space environments. The BioSentinel mission is comprised of four segments developed at NASA Ames Research Center: a 6U CubeSat (1U = 10-cm cube), an ISS payload launched in December 2021 and two ground units, one for the mission’s CubeSat and one for the ISS payload. The last three segments have been operational since January 2022 and serve as experimental controls. BioSentinel’s 6U CubeSat is planned to launch as a secondary payload on the Artemis-1 rocket. It will be deployed on a lunar fly-by trajectory and into a heliocentric orbit. BioSentinel will be the first interplanetary satellite to study the biological response to space radiation outside Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in almost 50 years. BioSentinel is a complete, autonomous spacecraft capable of conducting experiments in deep space. Its 4U BioSensor payload is a fully automated and adaptable platform that can perform biological measurements with a range of microorganisms in multiple space environments, including the ISS, free flyers, and other platforms like the Lunar Gateway and lander vehicles. Once it reaches its orbit, BioSentinel’s CubeSat will measure the DNA damage response to ambient radiation in a model organism, the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which will be compared to information provided by an onboard radiation sensor and to data obtained in LEO (on ISS) and on Earth. Once in interplanetary space, fluidic cards containing desiccated yeast will be activated by growth medium addition at different time points throughout the mission. Growth and metabolic activity will be tracked continuously via optical measurements. This paper describes BioSentinel’s objectives, science, data management, and preliminary results from the ISS and ISS ground control segments.

BioSentinel↗