Lichen Vitality After a Space Flight on Board the EXPOSE-R2 Facility Outside the International Space Station: Results of the Biology and Mars Experiment
Abstract
As part of the Biology and Mars Experiment (BIOMEX; ILSRA 2009-0834), samples of the lichen Circinaria gyrosa were placed on the exposure platform EXPOSE-R2, on the International Space Station (ISS) and exposed to space and to a Mars-simulated environment for 18 months (2014–2016) to study: (1) resistance to space and Mars-like conditions and (2) biomarkers for use in future space missions (Exo-Mars). When the experiment returned (June 2016), initial analysis showed rapid recovery of photosystem II activity in the samples exposed exclusively to space vacuum and a Mars-like atmosphere. Significantly reduced recovery levels were observed in Sun-exposed samples, and electron and fluorescence microscopy (transmission electron microscope and field emission scanning electron microscope) data indicated that this was attributable to the combined effects of space radiation and space vacuum, as unirradiated samples exhibited less marked morphological changes compared with Sun-exposed samples. Polymerase chain reaction analyses confirmed that there was DNA damage in lichen exposed to harsh space and Mars-like environmental conditions, with ultraviolet radiation combined with space vacuum causing the most damage. These findings contribute to the characterization of space- and Mars-resistant organisms that are relevant to Mars habitability.
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Published in print: May 2020
Published online: 30 April 2020
Accepted: 13 November 2019
Received: 21 September 2018
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This work was supported by grants of the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINisterio de ECOnomía y Empresa, project SUBLIMAS “SUrvival of Bacteria and LIchens on Mars Analogs and Space,” ESP2015-69810-R, 2015, to Rosa de la Torre Noetzel, and Leopoldo García Sancho (PI of the Project CTM2015-64728-C2-1-R) and project Biocomplexity and Functioning of the Cryptogamic Cover in Arid and Polar Regions. a micro- and mesoscale approach . The authors also thank the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt) as well as the European Space Agency (ESA) for supporting the space experiment BIOlogy and Mars Experiment (ESA-International Life Sciences Research Announcement 2009-0834, PI: J.-P.P.V.).
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