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==Mission==
==Mission==
[[File:Piratpartiets principprogram illustrations (1).jpg|thumb|150px|Dandelion seeds spread by the wind]]
[[File:Piratpartiets principprogram illustrations (1).jpg|thumb|150px|Dandelion seeds spread by the wind]]
The mission was named after [[dandelion]] (Tanpopo) because the plant's seeds evoke the image of seeds of lifeforms flying up to space.
The mission was named after [[dandelion]] (Tanpopo) because the plant's seeds evoke the image of seeds of lifeforms flying up to space.


The Tanpopo mission, to start in May 2015, will
The Tanpopo mission, to start in May 2015, will
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[[Image:Stardust Dust Collector with aerogel.jpg|right|thumbnail|Dust collector with [[aerogel]] blocks]]
[[Image:Stardust Dust Collector with aerogel.jpg|right|thumbnail|Dust collector with [[aerogel]] blocks]]


The mission will collect [[cosmic dust]]s and other particles for three years by using ultra-low density silica gel ([[aerogel]]). Some of these [[aerogel]]s will be replaced every one or two years through 2018.<ref name='Yomiuri'>[http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002066967 Tanpopo mission to search space for origins of life]. ''The Japan News'', April 16, 2015.</ref>
The mission will collect [[cosmic dust]]s and other particles for three years by using ultra-low density silica gel ([[aerogel]]). Some of these [[aerogel]]s will be replaced every one or two years through 2018.<ref name='Yomiuri'>[http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002066967 Tanpopo mission to search space for origins of life]. ''The Japan News'', April 16, 2015.</ref>


The three key microbial candidates for the exposure experiments in space include ''Deinococcus spp.'': ''[[Deinococcus radiodurans|D. radiodurans]]'', ''D. aerius'' and ''D. aetherius''.<ref>"[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24132659 The possible interplanetary transfer of microbes: assessing the viability of Deinococcus spp. under the ISS Environmental conditions for performing exposure experiments of microbes in the Tanpopo mission]." Kawaguchi Y., Yang Y., Kawashiri N., Shiraishi K., Takasu M., Narumi I., Satoh K., Hashimoto H., Nakagawa K., Tanigawa Y., Momoki Y.H., Tanabe M., Sugino T., Takahashi Y., Shimizu Y., Yoshida S., Kobayashi K., Yokobori S., Yamagishi A. ''Orig Life Evol Biosph.'' October 15 2013; 43(4-5):411-28. doi: 10.1007/s11084-013-9346-1 ; PMID: 24132659 </ref> Containers holding [[yeast]] and other microbes will also be placed outside the Kibo module to examine whether microbes can survive travel for a long time while being exposed to the harsh cold environment of [[outer space]].
The three key microbial candidates for the exposure experiments in space include ''Deinococcus spp.'': ''[[Deinococcus radiodurans|D. radiodurans]]'', ''D. aerius'' and ''D. aetherius''.<ref>"[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24132659 The possible interplanetary transfer of microbes: assessing the viability of Deinococcus spp. under the ISS Environmental conditions for performing exposure experiments of microbes in the Tanpopo mission]." Kawaguchi Y., Yang Y., Kawashiri N., Shiraishi K., Takasu M., Narumi I., Satoh K., Hashimoto H., Nakagawa K., Tanigawa Y., Momoki Y.H., Tanabe M., Sugino T., Takahashi Y., Shimizu Y., Yoshida S., Kobayashi K., Yokobori S., Yamagishi A. ''Orig Life Evol Biosph.'' October 15, 2013; 43(4-5):411-28. {{doi|10.1007/s11084-013-9346-1}}; PMID 24132659</ref> Containers holding [[yeast]] and other microbes will also be placed outside the Kibo module to examine whether microbes can survive travel for a long time while being exposed to the harsh cold environment of [[outer space]].


==Analyses==
==Analyses==

Revision as of 06:45, 1 May 2015

The Kibo module (left) and the Exposed Facility Unit (right)

The Tanpopo mission is an orbital astrobiology project that will investigate the possible interplanetary transfer of life, organic compounds, and possible terrestrial particles in the low Earth orbit. The purpose is to assess the panspermia hypothesis and the possibility of natural interplanetary transport of life and its precursors.

The project, developed by Japanese scientists, will start in May 2015 by utilizing the Exposed Facility located on the exterior of Kibo, the Japanese Experimental Module of the International Space Station. The mission will collect cosmic dust by using ultra-low density silica gel (aerogel), and will analyze them after returning them to the Earth. The Principal Investigator is Akihiko Yamagishi, who heads a team of researchers from 26 universities and institutions in Japan, including JAXA.

Mission

Dandelion seeds spread by the wind

The mission was named after dandelion (Tanpopo) because the plant's seeds evoke the image of seeds of lifeforms flying up to space.

The Tanpopo mission, to start in May 2015, will take place at the Exposed Facility located on the exterior of Kibo module of the ISS. It will collect cosmic dust and expose dehydrated microorganisms outside the International Space Station while orbiting 400 km (250 mi) above the Earth. These experiments will test some aspects of panspermia, a hypothesis for exogenesis origin of life, and distributed by meteoroids, asteroids, comets and cosmic dust.[1] This mission can also test if terrestrial microbes (e.g., aerosols embedding microbial colonies) may be present, even temporarily and in freeze dry form in the low Earth orbit altitudes.[1] Researchers also aim to capture organic compounds and prebiotic organic compounds —such as aminoacids— drifting in space.[2] Also, by evaluating retrieved samples of exposed terrestrial microbes and astronomical organic analogs on the exposure panels, they can investigate their survivals and alterations in the duration of interplanetary transport.

Dust collector with aerogel blocks

The mission will collect cosmic dusts and other particles for three years by using ultra-low density silica gel (aerogel). Some of these aerogels will be replaced every one or two years through 2018.[2]

The three key microbial candidates for the exposure experiments in space include Deinococcus spp.: D. radiodurans, D. aerius and D. aetherius.[3] Containers holding yeast and other microbes will also be placed outside the Kibo module to examine whether microbes can survive travel for a long time while being exposed to the harsh cold environment of outer space.

Analyses

The aerogels will be placed and retrieved by using the robotic arm outside Kibo, the Japanese Experimental Module. Then, in 2018, all the aerogels will be placed inside the 'landing & return capsule' and ejected toward Earth.[1] After retrieving the aerogel, scientists will investigate the captured microparticles and tracks formed, followed by microbiological, organochemical and mineralogical analyses. Particles potentially containing microbes will be used for PCR amplification of rRNA genes followed by DNA sequencing.[4]


See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Tanpopo Experiment for Wastrobiology Exposure and Micrometeoroid Capture Onboard the ISS-JEM Exposed Facility." (PDF) H. Yano, A. Yamagishi, H. Hashimoto1, S. Yokobori, K. Kobayashi, H. Yabuta, H. Mita, M. Tabata H., Kawai, M. Higashide, K. Okudaira, S. Sasaki, E. Imai, Y. Kawaguchi, Y. Uchibori11, S. Kodaira and the Tanpopo Project Team. 45th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2014).
  2. ^ a b Tanpopo mission to search space for origins of life. The Japan News, April 16, 2015.
  3. ^ "The possible interplanetary transfer of microbes: assessing the viability of Deinococcus spp. under the ISS Environmental conditions for performing exposure experiments of microbes in the Tanpopo mission." Kawaguchi Y., Yang Y., Kawashiri N., Shiraishi K., Takasu M., Narumi I., Satoh K., Hashimoto H., Nakagawa K., Tanigawa Y., Momoki Y.H., Tanabe M., Sugino T., Takahashi Y., Shimizu Y., Yoshida S., Kobayashi K., Yokobori S., Yamagishi A. Orig Life Evol Biosph. October 15, 2013; 43(4-5):411-28. doi:10.1007/s11084-013-9346-1; PMID 24132659
  4. ^ Tanpopo mission: Astrobiology exposure and capture experiments of microbes and micrometeoroid. (PDF) Yuko Kawaguchi. 2014.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tanpopo_mission&oldid=660199946"