Dispersal of life from the deep biosphere to the cryosphere
Category: Use of Extreme Environments to advance the exploration and settlement of space
Institution: Queen Mary, University of London
Thermophilic bacteria with temperature optima greater than 50°C are commonly found on Earth’s surface despite most environments never rising to 50°C [1]. Recent findings suggest that thermophilic bacteria may come from the deep hot subsurface and arrive to cold surface environments by hydrothermal fluid seepage [2]. Findings also suggest that dormant thermophilic endospores deposited in cold sediment are re-activated in the deep warm subsurface as sedimentation progresses [3]. Endospores are structures made by some bacteria that protect the cell from stresses such as extreme cold and heat, radiation, and desiccation, and allow the cell to remain dormant yet viable for thousands to millions of years [4]. Bacteria may be using endospores to remain dormant for many years at temperatures below their optimum allowing them to participate in a natural surface-subsurface biogeographic cycle. This project seeks to explore this link between subsurface and surface environments by testing the hypothesis that thermophilic endospores are deposited to Arctic soil by hot springs. Thermophilic endospores are one of Earth’s best candidates for surviving Panspermia, and their ability to stay dormant for geologically-relevant timescales also makes them analogue biological systems for exploring dormant life in the Martian subsurface. As the Earth warms, thermophilic organisms will begin to play a more active role in ecosystem functions. This research aims to build understanding about how they arrive in cold environments. The research will also advance our understanding of the limits of life in extremes and its application to understanding the habitability of extraterrestrial environments.
Microbial nanomotion detection in ocean world analog samples
Category: Use of Extreme Environments to advance the exploration and settlement of space
Institution: Alison E. Murray, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV, USA
The search for extant life beyond earth remains fundamental to the pivotal question “are we alone?” As our understanding of the limits of life found on Earth have expanded, the number of potentially habitable environments within our solar system has grown in parallel. With non-returning missions planned to study habitability of ocean worlds of the outer solar system, novel technologies will be necessary to detect agnostic biosignatures, particularly for cold environments where both the abundance of life and associated biosignatures may be at low levels.
Terrestrial snow and ice environments which are low biomass, low activity habitats can provide analogs to ocean worlds and a means to test candidate mission instruments. One novel technology with potential to measure agnostic, physical biosignatures is nanomotion detection (NMD). The NMD instrument is comprised of a modified atomic force microscope (AFM) in which cells are chemically adhered directly onto a cantilever, and microbially-induced motion is tracked by laser deflections off the cantilever, then compared to a deactivated cells background control. The Murray Lab at Desert Research Institute has been utilizing an NMD prototype developed by S. Kasas and colleagues (EPFL, Lausanne Switzerland) to run experiments and establish protocols using a novel, psychrophilic Antarctic bacterial isolate (Pseudovibrio sp. Tun.PHSC04-5.14) and an alpine freshwater early spring lake sample. Next, we aim to assess nanomotion in cells found in snow and ice collected from the Sierra Nevada mountains as cold, natural environmental samples. This effort will test the sensitivity of NMD at low temperature, with low bioactivity cells, that may be analogous to conditions that may be found on ocean worlds.
One Earth, One Future: Using Satellite Imagery to Inspire Environmentally Sustainable Artwork
Category: Educational Advancement at the Interface of Environmentalism and Space Exploration
Institution: Ipswich Museum (Colchester and Ipswich Museums, Colchester Borough Council, UK)
This innovative project uses satellite imagery to educate and inspire the subject of environmentalism, and to specifically foster creative artwork using sustainable materials.
Ipswich Museum works with around 15 young people (aged 9-12) from the charity, Suffolk Family Carers. For over 30 years, Suffolk Family Carers have been helping family carers of all ages across Suffolk get the support they need to live fuller lives. While some young carers offer practical help, others may provide more emotional support. Caring for a parent with a physical condition, for example, may involve physical help such as getting dressed or doing the cooking. Suffolk Family Carers provide a variety of support to Young Carers and Young Adult Carers depending on their own individual needs.
This project opens the group’s eyes to the importance of environmental sustainability, and in so doing, introduce this topic at the heart of our communities. The first workshop explores a range of fragile ecosystems, using satellite imagery to contrast healthy and degraded environments (e.g. rainforest). In the second workshop, the group expresses themselves artistically, working with a freelance artist, to create a unique artwork made from their own reused recyclable materials. At the end of the project, the group shares their work on social media, in addition to their own environmental pledges, which they are encouraged to make during the project. The group learns about the fragility of our planet, its diverse ecosystems, and by viewing it on such a large scale (i.e. from satellites), its interconnectedness, and the fact that we all share the same, fragile planet: One Earth, One Future.
The AstroSustainability Learning Centre (ALC)
Category: Educational Advancement at the Interface of Environmentalism and Space Exploration
Institution: University of Manchester
The AstroSustainability Learning Centre (ALC) by the University of Manchester Astrobiology Society aims to lay out the foundations needed to achieve an interplanetary civilisation. This student-led project and its global network of volunteers develops a powerful resource bank, construct a ‘Green Exploration Guide’, and run events to disseminate them.
Furthermore, working groups are created focused on terraforming, space travel, and the future of Earth. This puts people at the centre and attract top experts on the subject, thereby connecting the greatest minds to discuss the most intriguing ideas. The group also organizes and fund a student’s project contest around developing sustainable solutions to find a medium between environmentalism and space exploration.
ALC aims to design, systematise, and deliver elaborate and meaningful resources for anyone, anywhere, and at any time.