Can microbes produce oxygen in space?
Biocon TeamZΩI hopes to find out with tests on whether photosynthesis in cyanobacteria is possible on the lunar surface
Three students — two from Kolkata and one from Arizona — obsessed with space and biology came together to answer the Lab2Moon call to design an experiment that would help man’s understanding of how to sustain life outside our planet. TeamZΩI was born with a concept to test whether photosynthesis can take place in cyanobacteria on the moon. The blue-green algae has shaped our planet in massive ways, and there is hope that it could be deployed to create a more hospitable habitat on other planets, too.
Now, with the support of Biocon Foundation, they will be flying aboard the TeamIndus spacecraft in 2018 with an experiment that it hopes will answer several big questions of inter-planetary living in one go. Here is more from the team.
Tell us about your experiment…
This experiment is aimed at the specific process of photosynthesis. Photosynthesis forms the basis for almost all life on earth. We are interested in knowing if proper photosynthesis can take place on the moon with its very hostile conditions. To test this, we devised the ultimate experiment using extremophile cyanobacteria Chroococcidiopsis. We will have two versions of the experiment that will be conducted simultaneously on Earth and the moon, so we have a better understanding of what is happening.
How did you come together?
Biocon TeamZΩI is made up of three core members: Santosh Roychowdhury, Autumn Kelsea Conner and Sukanya Roychowdhury. Santosh and Sukanya are siblings from Kolkata. Santosh studied Integrated Masters of Science Physics from Central University of Tamil Nadu, while Sukanya studied Integrated Masters of Science Mathematics at the same University. Autumn is studying computer systems engineering at the Arizona State University in the US. They met online, united by a passion for all things space and science.
Describe the evolution of your experiment.
We started with the most basic requirements — a sealed chamber with a transparent window to carry a liquid medium. The transparent window allows natural sunlight to penetrate the chamber and liquid culture medium provides the necessary nutrients for the cyanobacteria to grow. Next, we added a stirring mechanism so the cyanobacteria does not settle at the bottom of the chamber and equal sunlight and nutrients reach all the cyanobacteria present.
Initially we had an external canister to supply CO2 to the bacteria, but due to weight constraints we tried to replace it with a chemical reaction that would produce the necessary CO2. Then we scrapped that as well due to the sheer complexity and to decrease the rate of malfunction or failure. Finally we solved the issue by optimising the culture medium and making a hermetic chamber that can contain enough CO2 for the duration of the experiment on the lunar surface. The hermetic chamber will make it possible to maintain the necessary environmental conditions to carry out the experiment successfully.
What is the status of your experiment now?
We have come to the final stage of our mechanical design for the flight model. We are currently going through analysis and soon thermal modeling will begin. On the electronics front, the sensors have been optimized — bringing our requirement down from nine sensors to five — and the procedures to purchase these have been initiated. Soon we will begin standardizing the biological payload and further optimizing the system before final launch.
Designing for space — how is it different?
Designing for space is a highly iterative process with numerous reviews, analysis, testing and corrections.
Space requires the highest of standards and the payload must survive the stresses of launch, extreme conditions of space travel and, most importantly, maintaining Earth-like conditions for the biological payload inside the hermetic chambers.
