EXPOSE

Location of the astrobiology EXPOSE-E and EXPOSE-R facilities on the International Space Station

EXPOSE is a multi-user facility mounted outside the International Space Station (ISS) dedicated to astrobiology.[1][2] EXPOSE was developed by the European Space Agency (ESA) for long-term spaceflights and was designed to allow exposure of chemical and biological samples to outer space while recording data during exposure.[3]

The results will contribute to our understanding of photobiological processes in simulated radiation climates of planets (e.g. early Earth, early and present Mars, and the role of the ozone layer in protecting the biosphere from harmful UV-B radiation), as well as studies of the probabilities and limitations for life to be distributed beyond its planet of origin.[4] EXPOSE data support long-term in situ studies of microbes in artificial meteorites, as well as of microbial communities from special ecological niches. Some EXPOSE experiments investigated to what extent particular terrestrial organisms are able to cope with extraterrestrial environmental conditions. Others tested how organic molecules react when subjected for a prolonged period of time to unfiltered solar light.

  1. ^ Gerda Horneck, Petra Rettberg, Jobst-Ulrich Schott, Corinna Panitz, Andrea L'Afflitto, Ralf von Heise-Rotenburg, Reiner Willnecker, Pietro Baglioni, Jason Hatton, Jan Dettmann, René Demets and Günther Reitz, Elke Rabbow (9 July 2009). "EXPOSE, an Astrobiological Exposure Facility on the International Space Station - from Proposal to Flight" (PDF). Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres. 39 (6): 581–598. Bibcode:2009OLEB...39..581R. doi:10.1007/s11084-009-9173-6. PMID 19629743. S2CID 19749414. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2013.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Karen Olsson-Francis; Charles S. Cockell (23 October 2009). "Experimental methods for studying microbial survival in extraterrestrial environments" (PDF). Journal of Microbiological Methods. 80 (1): 1–13. doi:10.1016/j.mimet.2009.10.004. PMID 19854226. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  3. ^ "EXPOSE-home page". Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES). Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  4. ^ The ROSE experiments on the EXPOSE facility of the ISS July 2001