Samples of micro organisms, antibodies, fluorescent dyes and rock from Devon are amongst a European payload which will be sent into near Earth orbit this week onboard an unmanned Russian spacecraft – exposing them to the extreme conditions found in space.

The Foton – M3 capsule will be launched by a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Friday 14th September at 12 noon BST (1700 local time). After 9 minutes of propelled flight the Foton will reach a low earth orbit where it will remain for 11.8 days before the re-entry capsule will return to Earth.

The Foton-M3 will be carrying a European payload of 400 kg covering experiments in a wide range of disciplines including fluid physics, biology, crystal growth, meteoritics, radiation dosimetry and exobiology.

The European Space Agency’s (ESA) Biopan facility which is attached to the outside of the Foton will be used to expose experiment samples directly to the space environment in order to study the impact of space’s extreme temperatures, ultraviolet, cosmic and other solar radiation, and near-perfect vacuum.

Amongst the samples that make up the Biopan payload are the following which are in part funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC):-

  • Antibodies and fluorescent dyes to be used in the Life Marker Chip (LMC) instrument that is being developed under UK lead for ESA’s ExoMars mission

  • Micro organisms for ESA’s STONE artificial meteorite experiment

  • Rock samples containing micro organisms from cliffs at Beer, East Devon

The LMC will look for specific molecules associated with life by detecting biomarkers. Such techniques have been developed in the medical and biotechnology sectors but have not been used in space before. LMC lead scientist Dr Mark Sims from University of Leicester, comments, “Space is inherently a risky business but there are only so many tests that you can do on the ground. Biopan provides us with a platform to expose biological samples to a space environment and gives us the opportunity to expose our biosensor components to a space radiation environment in order to confirm their survivability.”

Dr David Cullen, LMC scientist and lead scientist on the LMC on Biopan experiment, from Cranfield University adds, “We will be testing the effect of various extreme environments encountered during space flight of antibodies and fluorescent dyes such as the effects of launch and re-entry, ground handling and the space radiation environment – all critical issues for a future Mars mission.”

Also onboard Biopan, all be it on the outside of the capsule, are samples of micro organisms that make up the ESA STONE artificial meteorite experiment. The organisms are dried onto the underside of several artificial meteorites made from sedimentary and igneous rocks which are attached to the outside of the heat shield – exposing them fully to the space environment.

This follows up an experiment flown on the previous Foton flight which demonstrated how the atmospheric transit of organisms acts as a strong biogeographical dispersal filter to the interplanetary transfer of photosynthesis. This time the experiment will focus on whether by being on the underside of different materials effects the survival of organisms during atmospheric entry.

Professor of Microbiology and STONE scientist Charles Cockell from The Open University explains further, “This work advances our knowledge of how island biogeography might work on an interplanetary scale. We know that life can make it from continent to continent, but what about from planet to planet? Of course, at the moment we don’t know of life on another planet, but this experiment is an intriguing test of an interplanetary version of an old ecological question and can at least tell us whether the Earth has always remained a biological island in space.”

Professor Cockell adds, “We will also be sending up samples of rock from Beer in Devon as part of experiment called LITHOPANSPERMIA. The samples contain diverse photosynthetic organisms. This is to test the ability of organisms to survive in interplanetary conditions. Photosynthesis is the basis of a productive biosphere, so understanding its ability to be transferred between planets is of great interest. ”

The re-entry capsule is scheduled to land in a remote area on the Russian/Kazahkstan border on 26th September where it will be recovered by a specialist team. The samples from the ESA experiments will first be transported to its ESTEC facility in the Netherlands and then to various other institutions for further analysis.

For related ESA materials and to follow the progress of the mission see http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMN5ZMPQ5F_FeatureWeek_0.html

Press Contacts

Gill Ormrod – Science and Technology Facilities Council Press Office
Tel: 01793 442012. Mobile : 0781 8013509
Email: gill.ormrod@stfc.ac.uk

Franco Bonacina – ESA Media Relations
Tel: : +33 (0) 1 5369 7155
Email: Franco.Bonacina1@esa.int

UK Science Contacts
Dr Mark Sims – University of Leicester
Tel: 0116 2523513
Email: mrs@star.le.ac.uk

Dr David Cullen – Cranfield University
Tel: 01525 863538
Email: d.cullen@cranfield.ac.uk

Professor Charles Cockell – The Open University
Tel: 01908 652588
Email: c.s.cockell@open.ac.uk

Notes to Editors

Images

For images of Foton capsules, samples, the LMC module and the cliffs at Beer contact Gill Ormrod – details above. They will also be available at http://www.stfc.ac.uk

Foton missions For further details of the Foton missions see http://www.spaceflight.esa.int/users/index.cfm?act=default.page&level=11&page=facfoton

European involvement in Foton missions

The European Space Agency has been participating in this kind of mission for 20 years and the twelve day Foton-M3 mission becomes the twelfth such mission with ESA involvement.

The mission is part of an agreement signed between ESA and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) on 21st October 2003. The agreement covered two Foton flights (Foton-M2 and Foton-M3), which have a combined total of 660kg of ESA supplied scientific payloads onboard.

Biopan has a motor driven, hinged lid and is equipped with devices and sensors that measure the various aspects of the environment to which the experiments are subjected. Once Foton is in orbit, a telecommand is sent from the ground and the lid opens to expose the samples to the environment. At the end of the mission, another command is sent and the lid closes. Since Biopan is on the outside of the Foton, it also has its own ablative heat shield to protect the facility and samples during the space craft’s re-entry and landing.

Science and Technology Facilities Council

The Science and Technology Facilities Council ensures the UK retains its leading place on the world stage by delivering world-class science; accessing and hosting international facilities; developing innovative technologies; and increasing the socio-economic impact of its research through effective knowledge exchange partnerships.

The Council has a broad science portfolio including Astronomy, Particle Physics, Particle Astrophysics, Nuclear Physics, Space Science, Synchrotron Radiation, Neutron Sources and High Power Lasers. In addition the Council manages and operates three internationally renowned laboratories:

* The Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Oxfordshire

* The Daresbury Laboratory, Cheshire

* The UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Edinburgh

The Council gives researchers access to world-class facilities and funds the UK membership of international bodies such as the European Laboratory for Particle Physics (CERN), the Institute Laue Langevin (ILL), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), the European organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) and the European Space Agency (ESA). It also contributes money for the UK telescopes overseas on La Palma, Hawaii, Australia and in Chile, and the MERLIN/VLBI National Facility, which includes the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank Observatory.

The Council distributes public money from the Government to support scientific research. Between 2007 and 2008 we will invest approximately over 700 million pounds.

The Council is a partner in the UK space programme, coordinated by the British National Space Centre.