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Detection and Quantification of Nitrogen Compounds in the First Drilled Martian Solid Samples by the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument Suite on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

The Sampl;e Analysis at Mars (sam) instrument suite on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity Rover detected both reduced and oxidized nitrogen bearing compounds during the pyrolysis of surface materials from the three sites at Gale Crater. Preliminary detections of nitrogen species include No, HCN, ClCN, and TFMA ((trifluoro-N-methyl-acetamide), Confirmation of indigenous Martian nitrogen-bearing compounds requires quantifying N contribution from the terrestrial derivatization reagents carried for SAM's wet chemistry experiment that contribute to the SAM background. Nitrogen species detected in the SAM solid sample analyses can also be produced during laboratory pyrolysis experiments where these reagents are heated in the presence of perchlorate a compound that has also been identified by SAM in Mars solid samples.

Stern, Jennifer C.↗

NASA Laboratory Analysis for Manned Exploration Missions

The Exploration Laboratory Analysis (ELA) project supports the Exploration Medical Capability Element under the NASA Human Research Program. ELA instrumentation is identified as an essential capability for future exploration missions to diagnose and treat evidence-based medical conditions. However, mission architecture limits the medical equipment, consumables, and procedures that will be available to treat medical conditions during human exploration missions. Allocated resources such as mass, power, volume, and crew time must be used efficiently to optimize the delivery of in-flight medical care. Although commercial instruments can provide the blood and urine based measurements required for exploration missions, these commercial-off-the-shelf devices are prohibitive for deployment in the space environment. The objective of the ELA project is to close the technology gap of current minimally invasive laboratory capabilities and analytical measurements in a manner that the mission architecture constraints impose on exploration missions. Besides micro gravity and radiation tolerances, other principal issues that generally fail to meet NASA requirements include excessive mass, volume, power and consumables, and nominal reagent shelf-life. Though manned exploration missions will not occur for nearly a decade, NASA has already taken strides towards meeting the development of ELA medical diagnostics by developing mission requirements and concepts of operations that are coupled with strategic investments and partnerships towards meeting these challenges. This paper focuses on the remote environment, its challenges, biomedical diagnostics requirements and candidate technologies that may lead to successful blood/urine chemistry and biomolecular measurements in future space exploration missions. SUMMARY The NASA Exploration Laboratory Analysis project seeks to develop capability to diagnose anticipated space exploration medical conditions on future manned missions. To achieve this goal, NASA will leverage existing point-of-care technology to provide clinical laboratory measurements in space. This approach will place the project on a path to minimize sample, reagent consumption, mass, volume and power. For successful use in the space environment, NASA specific conditions such as micro gravity and radiation, for example, will also need to be addressed.

Exploration Medical Capability↗

Detection and Quantification of Nitrogen Compounds in the First Drilled Martian Solid Samples by the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument Suite on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)

The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument suite on the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity Rover detected both reduced and oxidized nitrogen-bearing compounds during the pyrolysis of surface materials at Yellowknife Bay in Gale Crater. Preliminary detections of nitrogen species include NO, HCN, ClCN, CH3CN, and TFMA (trifluoro-N-methyl-acetamide). Confirmation of indigenous Martian N-bearing compounds requires quantifying N contribution from the terrestrial derivatization reagents (e.g. N-methyl-N-tertbutyldimethylsilyltrifluoroacetamide, MTBSTFA and dimethylformamide, DMF) carried for SAM's wet chemistry experiment that contribute to the SAM background. Nitrogen species detected in the SAM solid sample analyses can also be produced during laboratory pyrolysis experiments where these reagents are heated in the presence of perchlorate, a compound that has also been identified by SAM in Mars solid samples.

Curiosity rover↗

System and Method for Isolation of Samples

Systems and methods for isolating samples are provided. The system comprises a first membrane and a second membrane disposed within an enclosure. First and second reservoirs can also be disposed within the enclosure and adapted to contain one or more reagents therein. A first valve can be disposed within the enclosure and in fluid communication with the first reservoir, the second reservoir, or both. The first valve can also be in fluid communication with the first or second membranes or both. The first valve can be adapted to selectively regulate the flow of the reagents from the first reservoir, through at least one of the first and second membranes, and into the second reservoir.

Zhang, Ye↗

Preparation System and Method

Systems and methods for preparing a sample for further analysis are provided. The system can include an enclosure. A membrane can be disposed within the enclosure. First and second reservoirs can be disposed within the enclosure, and at least one of the first and second reservoirs can be adapted to have a reagent disposed therein. A valve can be disposed within the enclosure and in fluid communication with the first or second reservoirs or both. The valve can also be in fluid communication with the membrane. The valve can be adapted to selectively regulate the flow of the reagent from the first reservoir, through the membrane, and into the second reservoir.

Zhang, Ye↗

A PCR Based Microbial Monitoring Alternative Method of Detection and Identification of Microbes Aboard ISS

Previous research has shown that microorganisms and potential human pathogens have been detected on the International Space Station (ISS) with additional introduction of new microflora occurring with every exchange of crew or addition of equipment and supplies. These microbes are readily transferred between crew and subsystems (i.e. ECLSS, environmental control and life support systems). As this can be detrimental to astronaut health and optimal performance of ISS systems, monitoring of systems such as ECLSS to include identification of microbial contaminants could prevent adverse effects on human health and life support systems. Current monitoring on ISS is laborious and utilizes culture based methods followed by sample return to Earth for complete analysis. Future, long-distance spaceflight missions will require real-time monitoring capabilities that enable efficient and rapid assessments of the microbial environment allowing for expedited decisions and more targeted response to cope with anomalies. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a molecular microbial monitoring method was chosen and numerous PCR instruments investigated for their potential to perform in microgravity conditions. Using ISS as a test bed for PCR verification in microgravity will enable NASA to assess whether molecular based microbiological sensors may be components of reliable, closed-loop life support and habitation systems in spacecraft, enhancing infrastructure capabilities through increased efficiency, reliability, and time savings by enabling sample analysis on orbit. NASA selected the Water Monitoring Suite as one of the rapid spaceflight hardware demonstration activities utilizing a streamlined process to minimize the time required to fly experimental flight hardware. The RAZOR EX (BioFire Defense, Salt Lake City, UT) system was part of the water monitoring suite and is a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) real-time PCR instrument designed for field work. The RAZOR EX was originally designed for Department of Defense (DoD) under a small business innovative research (SBIR) grant and is ruggedized, compact and provides a rapid, sample to answer in less than an hour. PCR assays using a fluorescent probe were optimized and spiked with known concentrations of DNA (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) ranging from 0.002 to 20 ng. PCR reagents were lyophilized and configured in customized pouches and tested for flight readiness. Three types of water were used to rehydrate the reagents and demonstrate the fidelity of the PCR reaction in microgravity. Molecular grade deionized water served as a control while filtered and unfiltered ISS potable water served to test for chemical or biological inhibitors. All three types were compared to parallel ground test results. Nine tests were run on ISS (3 of each water type) and the critical threshold cycle (Ct) was compared to parallel ground tests completed at Kennedy Space Center, FL and Johnson Space Center, TX. All concentrations of Pseudomonas aeruginosa DNA were detected. A comparison of the Ct produced in real time PCR indicated similarity between flight and ground samples. There appeared to be no significant difference between flight or ground PCR reactions or between any of the three water types. This testing demonstrated the ability to perform molecular testing during spaceflight operations with similar sensitivity. It will allow for future ground development of molecular protocols and minimize the need for spaceflight testing. Future testing will include development of additional targets including environmental and health related organisms.

Christina Khodadad↗

Kits for Characterization of Chromosomal Inversions Using Probes

A kit for the characterization of chromosomal inversions using single-stranded probes that are either all identical or all complementary to a single-stranded chromatid is described. Reporter species are attached to oligonucleotide strands designed such that they may hybridize to portions of only one of a pair of single-stranded sister chromatids which may be prepared by the CO-FISH procedure. If an inversion has occurred, these marker probes will be detected on the second sister chromatid at the same location as the inversion on the first chromatid. The kit includes non-repetitive probes that are either all identical or all complementary to at least a portion of a target DNA sequence of only one DNA strand of only one chromatid and may in some embodiments include reagents suitable for performing CO-FISH and/or reagents for hybridizing the probes to the target DNA sequence.

Ray, F. Andrew↗

Biosentinel: Improving Desiccation Tolerance of Yeast Biosensors for Deep-Space Missions

BioSentinel is one of 13 secondary payloads to be deployed on Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) in 2019. We will use the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a biosensor to determine how deep-space radiation affects living organisms and to potentially quantify radiation levels through radiation damage analysis. Radiation can damage DNA through double strand breaks (DSBs), which can normally be repaired by homologous recombination. Two yeast strains will be air-dried and stored in microfluidic cards within the payload: a wild-type control strain and a radiation sensitive rad51 mutant that is deficient in DSB repairs. Throughout the mission, the microfluidic cards will be rehydrated with growth medium and an indicator dye. Growth rates of each strain will be measured through LED detection of the reduction of the indicator dye, which correlates with DNA repair and the amount of radiation damage accumulated. Results from BioSentinel will be compared to analog experiments on the ISS and on Earth. It is well known that desiccation can damage yeast cells and decrease viability over time. We performed a screen for desiccation-tolerant rad51 strains. We selected 20 re-isolates of rad51 and ran a weekly screen for desiccation-tolerant mutants for five weeks. Our data shows that viability decreases over time, confirming previous research findings. Isolates L2, L5 and L14 indicate desiccation tolerance and are candidates for whole-genome sequencing. More time is needed to determine whether a specific strain is truly desiccation tolerant. Furthermore, we conducted an intracellular trehalose assay to test how intracellular trehalose concentrations affect or protect the mutant strains against desiccation stress. S. cerevisiae cell and reagent concentrations from a previously established intracellular trehalose protocol did not yield significant absorbance measurements, so we tested varying cell and reagent concentrations and determined proper concentrations for successful protocol use.

BioSentinel↗

Biosentinel: Improving Desiccation Tolerance of Yeast Biosensors for Deep-Space Missions

BioSentinel is one of 13 secondary payloads to be deployed on Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) in 2019. We will use the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a biosensor to determine how deep-space radiation affects living organisms and to potentially quantify radiation levels through radiation damage analysis. Radiation can damage DNA through double strand breaks (DSBs), which can normally be repaired by homologous recombination. Two yeast strains will be air-dried and stored in microfluidic cards within the payload: a wild-type control strain and a radiation sensitive rad51 mutant that is deficient in DSB repairs. Throughout the mission, the microfluidic cards will be rehydrated with growth medium and an indicator dye. Growth rates of each strain will be measured through LED detection of the reduction of the indicator dye, which correlates with DNA repair and the amount of radiation damage accumulated. Results from BioSentinel will be compared to analog experiments on the ISS and on Earth. It is well known that desiccation can damage yeast cells and decrease viability over time. We performed a screen for desiccation-tolerant rad51 strains. We selected 20 re-isolates of rad51 and ran a weekly screen for desiccation-tolerant mutants for five weeks. Our data shows that viability decreases over time, confirming previous research findings. Isolates L2, L5 and L14 indicate desiccation tolerance and are candidates for whole-genome sequencing. More time is needed to determine whether a specific strain is truly desiccation tolerant. Furthermore, we conducted an intracellular trehalose assay to test how intracellular trehalose concentrations affect or protect the mutant strains against desiccation stress. S. cerevisiae cell and reagent concentrations from a previously established intracellular trehalose protocol did not yield significant absorbance measurements, so we tested varying cell and reagent concentrations and determined proper concentrations for successful protocol use.

BioSentinel↗

3D Construction of Biologically Derived Materials

System for the 3D Construction of Biologically Derived Materials, Structures, and Parts NASA has developed a novel approach for macroscale biomaterial production by combining synthetic biology with 3D printing. Cells are biologically engineered to deposit desired materials, such as proteins or metals, derived from locally available resources. The bioengineered cells build different materials in a specified 3D pattern to produce novel microstructures with precise molecular composition, thickness, print pattern, and shape. Scaffolds and reagents can be used for further control over material product. This innovation provides modern design and fabrication techniques for custom-designed organic or organic-inorganic composite biomaterials produced from limited resources. Benefits Conserves resources. Few raw or bulk starting materials needed Enables custom design of diverse materials Fast, portable, macroscale, on-demand manufacturing High-fidelity microstructures Uses commercially available parts Applications Biomaterials, biotechnology Organic-inorganic composite materials On-demand manufacturing In situ resource utilization Space stations Military Infrastructure materials The Technology Once genes for a desired material type, delivery mode, control method and affinity have been chosen, assembling the genetic components and creating the cell lines can be done with well-established synthetic biology techniques. A 3D microdeposition system is used to make a 3D array of these cells in a precise, microstructure pattern and shape. The engineered cells are suspended in a printable 'ink'. The 3D microdeposition system deposits minute droplets of the cells onto a substrates surface in a designed print pattern. Additional printer passes thicken the material. The cell array is fed nutrients and reagents to activate the engineered genes within the cells to create and deposit the desired molecules. These molecules form the designed new material. If desired, the cells may be removed by flushing. The end product is thus a 3D composite microstructure comprising the novel material. This innovation provides a fast, controlled production of natural, synthetic, and novel biomaterials with minimum resource overhead and reduced pre- and post-processing requirements.

3D↗

Automated Fluidics Device for Extraction and Quantification of miRNA Biomarkers From Blood

Radiation Assessment DuRing Exposure And long-Duration Spaceflight (RADREADS) demonstrates space-compatible point-of-care technology for quantitative biological monitoring of blood miRNA biomarkers in response to long-term low dose radiation exposure. This individualized monitoring approach will inform targeted treatment strategies to maximize medical resource utilization by accounting for individual susceptibility to radiation-related illnesses. As human spaceflight progresses beyond Earth’s magnetic shielding, radiation exposure poses a significant risk to astronaut health and safety. Extended operation in this environment comes with an increased risk of radiation exposure, leading to higher risks of radiation sickness, cancer, central nervous system effects, and degenerative diseases. While conventional physical dosimetry techniques capture radiation dose, individualistic susceptibility to radiation damage is varied. Multiple characteristics, including age, body weight, sex, genetics, and immune status, have been found to influence radiosensitivity (Liu et al. 2011, and Bouffler 2016). This differential response necessitates individualized monitoring and targeted treatment strategies to maximize medical resource utilization; however, a practical diagnostic platform for quantifying long-term, low dose radiation-induced tissue damage does not currently exist. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression by mediating the degradation of messenger RNA. The levels of particular miRNAs are influenced by biological processes such as inflammation and serve as biomarkers for a variety of conditions including cancer (Singh et al. 2017). MicroRNAs are found in various bodily fluids and are amenable to collection via liquid biopsies, providing a minimally invasive and easily quantifiable readout for a variety of radiosensitive reporters. A preliminary signature of 15 spaceflight sensitive miRNA has been identified in rodent and human studies, including miR-21-5p, miR-24-3p, miR-92a-3p, miR-17-5p, miR-16a-3p, miR-34a-3p, and miR-223-3p. These targets generally increased expression with radiation dose and linear energy transfer, though variation between individuals is not yet described. Current gaps in the field include a lack of understanding of longitudinal biological responses to long-term, low dose radiation exposure and the absence of space-compatible point-of-care technology for quantitative biological monitoring. In this body of work, we aim to develop an automated bleed-to-read system to process whole blood for the detection of miRNA biomarkers in order to monitor individualistic responses to radiation exposure. This will be achieved via separating serum (or plasma) from whole blood, followed by extraction, amplification, and quantification of the miRNA using a RT-qPCR reaction. Previously, the WetLab-2 hardware enabled execution of a RT-qPCR reaction aboard ISS; however, it is a manual system that requires crew manipulation and bulky components (Parra et al. 2017). To address these issues, automated fluid handling hardware was developed for each stage of sample preparation. Extraction of total RNA is achieved by sequentially pumping reagents through an off-the-shelf nucleic acid binding column (miRNeasy Serum/Plasma Advanced Kit, Qiagen). This approach eliminates several manual pipetting and centrifuging steps and limits the use of toxic chemicals commonly found in other sample processing techniques. The resulting elution will then be automatically dispensed for RT-qPCR analysis using a compact rotary qPCR (Mic qPCR Cycler, Bio Molecular Systems) that will improve spaceflight compatibility by removing bubbles from the detection region, another challenge highlighted by WetLab-2 (Parra et al. 2017). Efforts are also being made to simplify the RT-qPCR reaction to a 1-step air-dryable mix to improve long-term reagent stability at room temperature and reduce system complexity. By automating the RT-qPCR processes via microfluidic manipulation, RADREADS will reduce crewmember hands-on time and enable the personalized detection of radiation-induced tissue damage during long duration missions. Minimally invasive, longitudinal monitoring of individual’s response to radiation exposure will inform how the physiological system responds to long-term low dose space radiation and enables development of targeted countermeasures by the medical team. Ultimately, this portable technology will require minimal technical expertise and can also be used to monitor miRNA biomarkers associated with other diseases.

Tristen Head↗

Does Collection Time Bias the Ecology of Cleanroom Air Samples?

Microbial monitoring of astromaterials collections has taken on increased importance with the return of biologically sensitive samples from the asteroids Ryugu and Bennu and the initiation of the Mars Sample Return Program. Terrestrial bacteria and fungi can alter the mineralogy and organic composition of our collections causing irreversible contamination of pristine samples and increasing the risk of false positives for life detection measurements. NASA has conducted routine microbial monitoring of its existing collections since 20181. Initial monitoring focused on surface samples collected with foam swabs. Although, airborne microbiology is often decoupled from surface microbiology in the built environment2 culture-based air sampling techniques like impactors were not compliant with existing contamination control requirements. Bringing organic rich media, gelatin or liquids into curation cleanrooms presents an unacceptable risk to pristine samples. In 2022 NASA purchased a materials complaint air sampler and began collecting air samples from the cleanrooms in addition to surface samples3. The new instrument uses an electret filter to collect samples that are suitable for cultivating organisms or for direct DNA sequencing. Preliminary DNA sequencing results appeared to indicate that longer sampling times biased the microbial community in favor of hearty, spore-forming bacteria3. We present the results of a study comparing overnight sampling (17 hours) to short (1 hour) sampling of unoccupied curation cleanrooms. The results will help us optimize our monitoring protocols and develop a more detailed inventory of the ecology of astromaterials curation cleanrooms. Methods: We analyzed 72 paired air samples from six different cleanrooms including the meteorite processing lab (ISO 7 equivalent, 16 samples), the lunar lab (ISO 6 equivalent, 10 samples), the stardust lab (ISO 5 equivalent 14 samples), the OSIRIS-REx lab (ISO 5 equivalent, 12 samples), the Hayabusa2 lab (ISO 5 equivalent, 14 samples), and the Genesis lab (ISO 4 equivalent, 6 samples). All the samples were collected with an InnovaPrep Bobcat air sampler operating at a sampling rate of 200 L/min. The sampler operates for 5 minutes out of every 20 minute period. Half of the samples were collected by filtering 3,000L (15 min. of active sampling) of air across an electret filter for one hour. The rest of the samples were collected by filtering approximately 51,000 L air across the filter overnight (~17 hours, 255 min. of active sampling). Cells were eluted from the filter using 6-7 ml of pressurized 0.15% tween 20 in PBS (phosphate buffered saline). This liquid was used to cultivate bacteria according to previously published methods1,4,5 and for DNA extraction and next generation sequencing. DNA was extracted with a Qiagen MagAttract PowerMicrobiome kit6. To identify bacteria and archaea, the 16S rRNA gene was amplified using Earth Microbiome primers for the V4 region 7. The amplified DNA was sequenced on an Illumina MiSeq using a V3 reagent kit. The resulting sequences were processed using DADA2 and QIIME2 as implemented on the EDGE bioinformatics platform8–10. Results: Only two of the 72 samples had no amplifiable DNA. Amplified DNA concentrations ranged from 2.67 – 0.272 ng/µl. The median concentration of amplified DNA for the 1 hour samples was 0.770 ± 0.368 ng/µl. The median concentration of amplified DNA for the overnight samples was 0.877 ± 0.434 ng/µl. On average the overnight samples had slightly more sequences (58,960 vs. 59,456) and ASV’s (amplicon sequence variants) (60 vs 64.5) than the one hour samples, but these differences are not statistically significant. The most abundant ASV in every sample mapped to the genus Cupravidus. ASV’s mapping to the genuses Bacillus, Schlegelella, Thermus, and Staphylococcus were also common. Discussion and Future Work: Alpha diversity statistics like Shannon Entropy and Faith Phylogenetic Diversity are used to describe the diversity of organisms in a single sample. If a longer sampling time was biasing the data, we would expect to see a change in these diversity statistics vs. sample time. However, we did not observe this in our data. The median Shannon entropy was slightly higher for the overnight samples (3.773 vs 3.611) as was the Faith Phylogenetic Diversity (4.042 vs 3.596), but both values were within a standard deviation of each other for the two sampling times (Fig. 1). It is unlikely, that the longer sampling time is introducing bias into our data. We do observe a significant decrease in diversity when comparing the air samples by lab. The Genesis lab (ISO 4 equivalent) has a lower median number of ASV’s (45.5) than the other labs (62). Median values for Shannon Entropy (3.717 vs. 3.430) and Faith Phylogenetic Diversity (3.796 vs. 3.548) are also lower for Genesis, but those values are with one standard deviation of each other for the different sampling times. This is consistent with previous culture-based results suggesting that the environment in cleanrooms tends to select for a core group of organisms capable of surviving under dry, low nutrient, conditions. The presence of the ASV’s mapping to Cupravidus and Thermus in our sequencing blanks and controls suggests that several of the most common organisms in our samples represent contaminants from the reagents used to perform the DNA extractions and sequencing. Further work is needed to identify these contaminants, remove them from our data and recalculate the diversity statistics. This is a systematic error. Therefore, we do not expect removing the sequencing contaminants to change our conclusions. Longer air sample collection times appear to result in slightly higher diversity and do not bias the results towards “hardy” bacteria like spore-formers. Based on these preliminary results we conclude that sampling at least 3,000 liters of air is sufficient to capture the microbial diversity of cleanrooms, and that air samples can also be collected overnight without negatively impacting diversity. These results allow us to be flexible when designing microbial monitoring plans so that they do not interfere with routine lab activity. References: 1. Regberg, A. B. et al. 49th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2018). 2. The United States Pharmacopeial Convention. USP General Chapter <1116> (2013). 3. Regberg, A. B., et al. 54th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2023). 4. Regberg, A. B. et al. 53rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference ( 2022). 5. Davis, R. E.,et al. 50th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2019). 6. Qiagen. MagAttract® PowerMicrobiome® DNA/RNA EP Kit Handbook. (2018). 7. Walters, W. et al. mSystems 1, (2015). 8. Callahan, B. J. et al. Nat. Methods 13, 581–583 (2016). 9. Hall, M. & Beiko, R. G. Microbiome Analysis: Methods and Protocols113–129 (Springer, 2018). 10. Philipson, C. et al. Bio-Protoc. 7, e2622 (2017).

A. B. Regberg↗

Preparation of thorium magnesium-zinc reduction

Magnesium-zinc reduction of thorium dioxide is used for the preparation of thorium metal. Potential economic advantages of this technique include use of relatively inexpensive reagents for the metal and flux phases, and production of metal of acceptable quality in good yield.

Hariharan, A. V.↗

Colorometric detection of ethylene glycol vapor

Very low concentrations of ethylene glycol in air or other gases are detected by passing a sample through a glass tube with three partitioned compartments containing reagents which successively convert the ethylene glycol vapor into a colored compound.

Helm, C.↗