Testing life's ability to survive
and adapt in extraterrestrial
atmospheres
Cornet, Yohan Gercke, Gesa-Maria
Duckworth, Benjamin
Morales Moya, Lucas J.
Introduction
•Background



Ability to detect atmospheres from (far away) planets is a given;
composition as indicator of suitable conditions
International program combining methods and knowledge of
astronomy, engineering & biology
Establish databases for open access use of organisms,
chemicals & measured data
•Objectives


Assess whether terrestrial life can survive and adapt to artificial
extraterrestrial atmospheric conditions
Develop new techniques enabling a deeper understanding of the
parameters of life
Hypothesis
Overview
Samples
Atmospheric analysis
Artificial atmosphere
Biological analysis
Design of the bioreactor
Design of the bioreactor
Exit - Entrance + Accumulation = Generation
Materials & methods: atmospheres
Earth
Chemistry
~ 78% N2
~ 21% O2
~ 1% Argon
Pressure
~ 100 kPa
Habitable zone
Yes
Temperature
-90 °C – 60 °C
Light income
~ 1kW per m2
Additional
Water vapor
Ozone layer
Greenhouse effect
Atmosphere linked to biota
Titan
Chemistry
~ 95-98% N2
~ 1-4% CH4
< 1% H
Pressure
~ 150 kPa
Habitable zone
No
Temperature
~ -180 °C
Light income
~ 1% of earths
Additional
No water vapor
No ozone layer
Anti-Greenhouse effect
Mars
Chemistry
~ 96% CO2
~ 2% Argon
~ 2% N2
Pressure
~ 0.6 kPa
Habitable zone
(Yes)
Temperature
-140 °C – 35 °C
Light income
< 50% of earths
Additional
Water vapor
Polar ozone layer
Greenhouse effect
Potential organisms
Potential organisms
Organisms
Organisms
Multicellular
eukaryotes
Cow, Shark,
Sponges , …
Necessarily aerobic
organism that also
need water
Heterotrophic
compulsory
No possibility of
adaptation within a
short period of times
Google image
Organisms
Archaea &
Bacteria
Different types of
interesting
metabolisms.
Adapted to many types
of environmental
conditions
High division rates allow
quick responses
Rothschild J. L., Mancinelli L. R.,
2001
Rothschild J. L., Mancinelli L. R., 2001
Organisms
Archaea &
Bacteria
Examples
Anme-1 archea:
in
ANME-1 Archea living in gas Hydrates
the Black Sea
Reitner J. et. al. 2005
Able to survive in
methane hydrates by
anaerobic oxydation of
methane and sulfates
reduction
Orcutt B. N. et. al. 2003
The community of
organisms that live in the
Rio Tinto, considered as
a terrestrial analog to
Mars conditions
Amils R. et. al., 2006
Acidophilic prokaryotic identified in the Rio Tinto
Amils R. et. al., 2006
Organisms
Unicellular
eukaryote
Some eukaryote show
high resistance to
extreme habitats
Examples :
Cyanidium
caldarium,for example
is able to resist a pH
level down to 0,05
Eisele L. E. et. al., 1999
Wikipedia
Organisms
Eukaryote
Lichens
Symbiosis between
fungi and green
algae/cyanobacteria
Wikipedia.org
Resistant to nutrient,
water and light
deficiency as well as
temperature variation.
Red lichen in Antartica
Sánchez F.J. et. al. , 2012
"Lichenes" from Ernst Haeckel's Artforms of Nature, 1904
Organisms
Eukaryote
Lichens
Example :
Circinaria gyrosa (nom.
Provis.)
Survived martian like
environment :
Circinaria gyrosa
Sánchez F.J. et. al. , 2012
-temperature -93°C
-same atmospheric
composition
-Mars like UV-radiation
-Sánchez F.J. et. al. , 2012
-Survived two weeks
into the void without any
protection
-Sancho L.G. et. al.,2008
BIOPAN-5
Sancho L.G. et. al.,2008
Experiment
Environmental sample
Does anything grow?
Characterise and
grow a stock
Yes
No
Sterilise and
replicate with the
single species
Does it grow?
Still nothing
growing?
No
Store the strain under
potential organisms which
may require symbiosis
Yes
Re-characterise
the species
Try other samples
Change a parameter:
Gas composition
Temperature
Create variants for
testing
Luminosity
Try again
Store the strain
for further use
Look for related
microorganisms
Expected results
Possible outcomes
Nothing grows
from any
samples tested.
Conclusion
The atmosphere is outside the
parameters at which earth life
can survive.
Some species grow
from the
environmental
sample but not when
tested individually.
A symbiotic relationship may
be required for earth life to
survive in that atmosphere.
Some samples grow,
even when tested
individually.
The microorganism has
some characteristic or
adaption which allows it to
grow.
Further research
By changing the conditions
of the atmosphere we can
assess at what conditions
earth life will grow.
Testing mixes of these species
could provide more
information on the
mechanisms required for life
to survive in that atmosphere.
Characterising the species
may provide information on
adaptions for life in that
atmosphere and give possible
biomarkers to look for.
Future work
Extending the facility to include a liquid chamber for testing the viability of life
(and other experiments) within the subterranean oceans of other planets.
Not such a pipe dream?
We already have the
technology to recreate titans
hydrocarbon lakes
Future work
Developing new technology / rovers capable of surviving in other atmospheres.
Example : Venus
Date
1961
1962
1964
1966
1967
1969
1970
NASA's Glenn venus
chamber
Name
Details
Venera 1
Overheated, the first probe launched to another plannet
First fly by of venus
Mariner 2
Zond 1
Malfunctioned
Venera 3
Crash-landed
Venera 4
took atmospherical readings – proving venus is hotter and denser than expected
Venera 5 + 6 Crushed by high pressure in the atmosphere
Venera 7
First successful landing on Venus – transmitted for 23 min
Currently being done, why not for other planets?
Future work
Testing synthetic or genetically modified microbes capable of
teraforming in these atmosphere.
The term terraforming was coined by Jack
Williamson in 1942 and the idea hasn't left
science fiction since.
References
•
T. Müh, E. Bratz, M. Rücke (1999): Microorganisms immobilized by membrane inclusion: kinetic measurements in a fixed bed bioreactor and oxygen
consumption calculations Bioprocess engineering 20:405-422 Springer-Verlac
•
H. Kariminiaae-Hamedaani, K. Kanda, F. Kato (2003): Wastewater Treatment with Bacteria Immobilized onto a Ceramic Carrier in an Aerated System
Journal of Bioscience and bioengineering Vol 95, No 2, 128-132
•
J. Penyarrocha (2011): Diseño y análisis de biorreactores Biorreactores
•
H. B. Niemann, S. K. Atreya, S. J. Bauer, G. R. Carignan, J. E. Demick, R. L. Frost, D. Gautier, J. A. Haberman; D. N. Harpold, D. M. Hunten, G. Israel, J. I.
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•
T. Sharp (2012): Earth's Atmosphere: Composition, Climate & Weather, Internet source (http://www.space.com/17683-earth-atmosphere.html)
•
J. F. Kasting, J. L. Siefert (2002): Life and the Evolution of Earth's Atmosphere, Science 296, 1066-1068.
•
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•
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Steigerwald
(2005):
Titan's
Atmosphere
Revealed
http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/Titan_Atmosphere.html)
•
T.A. Kral, T. Goodhart, K.L. Howe, P. Gavin (2009): Can methanogens grow in a perchlorate environment on Mars?, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 44
•
Rothschild J.L. & Mancinelli L.R., 2001, Life in extreme environments, Nature 409,1092-1101
•
Orcutt et al., 2003, Life at the edge of methane ice : microbial cycling of carbon and sulfur in Gulf of Mexico gas hydrates, Chemical Geology 205,
239-291, doi : 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2003.12.020
•
Reitner et al., 2005, Concretionary methane-seep carbonates and associated microbial communities in Black Sea sediments, Palaeogeography,
Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 227, 18-30, doi : 10.1016/j.palaeo.2005.04.033
•
Amils R. et al., 2006, Extreme environment as Mars terrestrial analogs : the Rio Tinto case, Planetary and Space Science 55, 370-381, doi :
10.1016/j.pss.2006.02.006
•
Eisele F.L. et al., 1999, Studies on C-phycocyanin form Cyanidium caldarium, a eukaryote at the extremes of habitat, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1456,
99-107, doi : 5005-2728(99)00110-3
•
Sanchez F.J. et al., 2012, The resistance of the lichen Circinaria gyrosa towards simulated Mars conditions – a model test for the survival capacity of an
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•
Sancho G.L. et al., 2008, Lichens, new and promising material for experiments in astrobiology, Fungal Biological review 22, issue 4, 103-108, doi :
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