BioRock: new experiments and hardware to investigate microbe–mineral interactions in space

Loudon, Claire Marie; Nicholson, Natasha; Finster, Kai; Leys, Natalie; Byloos, Bo; Rettberg, Petra; Moeller, Ralf; Fuchs, Felix M.; Demets, R.; Krause, Jutta; Vukich, Marco; Mariani, Alessandro; Cockell, Charles S.

doi:10.1017/s1473550417000234

Cited by 25 publications

(36 citation statements)

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“…For this experiment, we selected three bacterial species with demonstrated evidence for their ability to grow on and interact with rock surfaces or soil, bioleach elements and resist dessication ( Loudon et al, 2018 ): (i) Sphingomonas desiccabilis CP1D (DSM 16792, University of Edinburgh), a Gram-negative, non-motile and non-spore-forming α-proteobacterium (phylum Proteobacteria) ( Reddy and Garcia-Pichel, 2007 ). S. desiccabilis was first isolated in the Colorado plateau from soil crusts ( Stevens et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In response to a flight opportunity offered by the European Space Agency (ESA), we conducted the BioRock experiment ( Loudon et al, 2018 ) onboard the ISS with the general aim to advance the knowledge on bacterial responses to microgravity (μ g ), simulated Mars (Mars g ) and Earth (Flight 1- g ) gravities, with a view to microbe-mineral interaction and its potential roles in extraterrestrial life support systems, e.g., in situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), biomining and soil formation from planetary regolith ( Cockell, 2010 ; Olsson-Francis et al, 2010 ; Zaets et al, 2011 ; Menezes et al, 2015a ) ( Figure 1 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As BioRock had the rare opportunity to study multiple microorganisms in the same set of experimental conditions, one part of this experiment was to test the hypothesis that the gravity condition influences the final cell concentration of the bacterial cultures after a 3-week period. This timeframe was chosen as a point in stationary phase that gives enough time to create microbe-mineral interactions, but not yet in death phase to lead to cell degradation ( Loudon et al, 2018 ). Despite the diverse gravity-dependent phenomena involved, we reported no effect of gravity on the final cell concentrations of the three different bacterial species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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No Effect of Microgravity and Simulated Mars Gravity on Final Bacterial Cell Concentrations on the International Space Station: Applications to Space Bioproduction

et al. 2020

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Microorganisms perform countless tasks on Earth and they are expected to be essential for human space exploration. Despite the interest in the responses of bacteria to space conditions, the findings on the effects of microgravity have been contradictory, while the effects of Martian gravity are nearly unknown. We performed the ESA BioRock experiment on the International Space Station to study microbe-mineral interactions in microgravity, simulated Mars gravity and simulated Earth gravity, as well as in ground gravity controls, with three bacterial species: Sphingomonas desiccabilis , Bacillus subtilis , and Cupriavidus metallidurans . To our knowledge, this was the first experiment to study simulated Martian gravity on bacteria using a space platform. Here, we tested the hypothesis that different gravity regimens can influence the final cell concentrations achieved after a multi-week period in space. Despite the different sedimentation rates predicted, we found no significant differences in final cell counts and optical densities between the three gravity regimens on the ISS. This suggests that possible gravity-related effects on bacterial growth were overcome by the end of the experiment. The results indicate that microbial-supported bioproduction and life support systems can be effectively performed in space (e.g., Mars), as on Earth.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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No Effect of Microgravity and Simulated Mars Gravity on Final Bacterial Cell Concentrations on the International Space Station: Applications to Space Bioproduction

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“…Different types of cultivation hardware have been developed since 2003 and were applied to yeast batch or solid culture and bacteria aerobic and anaerobic culture, among others. Kayser Italia is also developing a biomining reactor prototype as part of ESA's BioRock project, planned to study microbemineral interactions in space (Loudon et al 2017).…”

Section: Real Microgravitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Fungal Biotechnology in Space: Why and How?

Cortesão

Schütze

Marx³

et al. 2020

Grand Challenges in Biology and Biotechnology

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Human space exploration is envisioning long-term spaceflight missions that go far beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). However, maintaining the necessary resources on a long-duration manned mission has its many challenges. Currently, on the International Space Station (ISS), astronauts are provided with resources in resupply missions. These missions transport all kinds of resources such as food, spacecraft materials, medical supplies or scientific experiments. The frequent exchange between Earth and spacecraft will not be possible for long-duration far-reaching missions, such as a 500-day human mission to Mars or the colonization of the Moon. Moreover, the cost per kilo calculated to be around $12,600 when launching a spacecraft (Harper et al. 2016) makes it impractical to bring all the needed supplies at once. The success of space exploration requires the ability to be Earthindependent, particularly when it comes to resources. The ideal scenario would be M. Cortesão

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“…The project involves the study of biofilms and microbe-mineral interactions in microgravity and simulated martian gravity using the Kubik centrifuge. The project is focused on a better understanding of how microbes behave and form biofilms in space, with their potential applications to improving life support, extraction of minerals from rocks, and other uses of microbes in space exploration (Raafat et al , 2013 ; Loudon et al, 2018 ). In addition to orbital studies, the experiment has also involved testing on parabolic flights with ESA.…”

Section: Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

The UK Centre for Astrobiology: A Virtual Astrobiology Centre. Accomplishments and Lessons Learned, 2011–2016

et al. 2018

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The UK Centre for Astrobiology (UKCA) was set up in 2011 as a virtual center to contribute to astrobiology research, education, and outreach. After 5 years, we describe this center and its work in each of these areas. Its research has focused on studying life in extreme environments, the limits of life on Earth, and implications for habitability elsewhere. Among its research infrastructure projects, UKCA has assembled an underground astrobiology laboratory that has hosted a deep subsurface planetary analog program, and it has developed new flow-through systems to study extraterrestrial aqueous environments. UKCA has used this research backdrop to develop education programs in astrobiology, including a massive open online course in astrobiology that has attracted over 120,000 students, a teacher training program, and an initiative to take astrobiology into prisons. In this paper, we review these activities and others with a particular focus on providing lessons to others who may consider setting up an astrobiology center, institute, or science facility. We discuss experience in integrating astrobiology research into teaching and education activities. Key Words: Astrobiology—Centre—Education—Subsurface—Analog research. Astrobiology 18, 224–243.

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BioRock: new experiments and hardware to investigate microbe–mineral interactions in space

Cited by 25 publications

References 60 publications

No Effect of Microgravity and Simulated Mars Gravity on Final Bacterial Cell Concentrations on the International Space Station: Applications to Space Bioproduction

No Effect of Microgravity and Simulated Mars Gravity on Final Bacterial Cell Concentrations on the International Space Station: Applications to Space Bioproduction

Fungal Biotechnology in Space: Why and How?

The UK Centre for Astrobiology: A Virtual Astrobiology Centre. Accomplishments and Lessons Learned, 2011–2016

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