Earth’s near space,located in the region between 20 and 100 km above sea level,is characterized by extreme conditions,such as low temperature,low atmospheric pressure,harsh radiation,and extreme dryness.These conditi...Earth’s near space,located in the region between 20 and 100 km above sea level,is characterized by extreme conditions,such as low temperature,low atmospheric pressure,harsh radiation,and extreme dryness.These conditions are analogous to those found on the surface of Mars and in the atmosphere of Venus,making Earth’s near space a unique natural laboratory for astrobiological research.To address essential astrobiological questions,teams from the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS)have developed a scientific balloon platform,the CAS Balloon-Borne Astrobiology Platform(CAS-BAP),to study the effects of near space environmental conditions on the biology and survival strategies of representative organisms in this terrestrial analog.Here,we describe the versatile Biological Samples Exposure Payload(BIOSEP)loaded on the CAS-BAP with respect to its structure and function.The primary function of BIOSEP is to expose appropriate biological specimens to the harsh conditions of near space and subsequently return the exposed samples to laboratories for further analysis.Four successful flight missions in near space from 2019 to 2021 have demonstrated the high reliability and efficiency of the payload in communicating between hardware and software units,recording environmental data,exposing sample containers,protecting samples from external contamination,and recovering samples.Understanding the effects of Earth’s near space conditions on biological specimens will provide valuable insights into the survival strategies of organisms in extreme environments and the search for life beyond Earth.The development of BIOSEP and associated biological exposure experiments will enhance our understanding of the potential for life on Mars and the habitability of the atmospheric regions of other planets in the solar system and beyond.展开更多
Background To evaluate the hazard of space radiation posing to the tissues,it is important to obtain exact fluxes of different radiation particles.The Radiation Gene Box(RGB)onboard SJ-10 spacecraft was an instrument ...Background To evaluate the hazard of space radiation posing to the tissues,it is important to obtain exact fluxes of different radiation particles.The Radiation Gene Box(RGB)onboard SJ-10 spacecraft was an instrument designed to investigate the effects of space environment on the mESCs and drosophila.To derive the dose received by the tissues inside the RGB,the Space Radiation Detector(SRD)was installed inside it.Purpose The SRD was designed to derive the fluxes of electron,proton,hellion and gamma rays around it.If the type of the particles,the energies,the fluxes and the conversion coefficients are known,the dose received by the tissues could be evaluated.Methods The SRDwas designed as a △E-E solid-state telescope.By measuring the energy deposited in the three subdetectors,the particles’type and their energies could be discriminated.The data of SRDwere divided into 15 bins by the types of particles and their energy ranges.Results The gamma ray flux was higher than any other particle flux inside the RGB,and the electron was the most intense charge particle,while the helium ion was the most harmful radiation to the cells inside the RGB.Conclusion The dose rate inside the Radiation Gene Box was much higher than in the ground,but the integral dose of 12 days inside the RGB was about 2.13 mSv.It seemed unlikely to have obvious biological effects on the tissues of mice and drosophila.展开更多
Earth's near space(20-100 km above sea level(ASL))is one of the most extreme environments on Earth due to a combination of high radiation,low atmospheric pressure,extreme cold and hyper aridity[1].Investigations o...Earth's near space(20-100 km above sea level(ASL))is one of the most extreme environments on Earth due to a combination of high radiation,low atmospheric pressure,extreme cold and hyper aridity[1].Investigations of the survival strategies of microorganisms in near space are of great interest in respect of understanding the limits of life on Earth,identifying the upper boundary of Earth's biosphere,testing the panspermia hypothesis,and assessing long-distance microbial transfer[2].High-altitude balloon based research on microorganisms in near space dates back to the 1930's[3].Ultraviolet(UV)radiation has been shown to be one of the main causes of biological mortality in near space.Thus to date many extremophilic microorganisms including bacteria,archaea and fungi have been tested for their tolerance to extreme conditions in the stratosphere region of lower near space[4].展开更多
基金supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDA17010505)
文摘Earth’s near space,located in the region between 20 and 100 km above sea level,is characterized by extreme conditions,such as low temperature,low atmospheric pressure,harsh radiation,and extreme dryness.These conditions are analogous to those found on the surface of Mars and in the atmosphere of Venus,making Earth’s near space a unique natural laboratory for astrobiological research.To address essential astrobiological questions,teams from the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS)have developed a scientific balloon platform,the CAS Balloon-Borne Astrobiology Platform(CAS-BAP),to study the effects of near space environmental conditions on the biology and survival strategies of representative organisms in this terrestrial analog.Here,we describe the versatile Biological Samples Exposure Payload(BIOSEP)loaded on the CAS-BAP with respect to its structure and function.The primary function of BIOSEP is to expose appropriate biological specimens to the harsh conditions of near space and subsequently return the exposed samples to laboratories for further analysis.Four successful flight missions in near space from 2019 to 2021 have demonstrated the high reliability and efficiency of the payload in communicating between hardware and software units,recording environmental data,exposing sample containers,protecting samples from external contamination,and recovering samples.Understanding the effects of Earth’s near space conditions on biological specimens will provide valuable insights into the survival strategies of organisms in extreme environments and the search for life beyond Earth.The development of BIOSEP and associated biological exposure experiments will enhance our understanding of the potential for life on Mars and the habitability of the atmospheric regions of other planets in the solar system and beyond.
基金This work is supported by the strategic priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Science,Grant No.XDA04020202-13.
文摘Background To evaluate the hazard of space radiation posing to the tissues,it is important to obtain exact fluxes of different radiation particles.The Radiation Gene Box(RGB)onboard SJ-10 spacecraft was an instrument designed to investigate the effects of space environment on the mESCs and drosophila.To derive the dose received by the tissues inside the RGB,the Space Radiation Detector(SRD)was installed inside it.Purpose The SRD was designed to derive the fluxes of electron,proton,hellion and gamma rays around it.If the type of the particles,the energies,the fluxes and the conversion coefficients are known,the dose received by the tissues could be evaluated.Methods The SRDwas designed as a △E-E solid-state telescope.By measuring the energy deposited in the three subdetectors,the particles’type and their energies could be discriminated.The data of SRDwere divided into 15 bins by the types of particles and their energy ranges.Results The gamma ray flux was higher than any other particle flux inside the RGB,and the electron was the most intense charge particle,while the helium ion was the most harmful radiation to the cells inside the RGB.Conclusion The dose rate inside the Radiation Gene Box was much higher than in the ground,but the integral dose of 12 days inside the RGB was about 2.13 mSv.It seemed unlikely to have obvious biological effects on the tissues of mice and drosophila.
基金supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA17010501)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41822704 and 41621004)+2 种基金the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences,the Key Research Programs of Institute of Geology and Geophysics,Chinese Academy of Sciences(IGGCAS201904 and IGGCAS-202102)supported by the Natural Environment Research Council(NERC)Independent Research Fellowship(NE/P017266/1)all people involved with the Scientific Experimental System in Near Space Project of HH-20-7 flight mission。
文摘Earth's near space(20-100 km above sea level(ASL))is one of the most extreme environments on Earth due to a combination of high radiation,low atmospheric pressure,extreme cold and hyper aridity[1].Investigations of the survival strategies of microorganisms in near space are of great interest in respect of understanding the limits of life on Earth,identifying the upper boundary of Earth's biosphere,testing the panspermia hypothesis,and assessing long-distance microbial transfer[2].High-altitude balloon based research on microorganisms in near space dates back to the 1930's[3].Ultraviolet(UV)radiation has been shown to be one of the main causes of biological mortality in near space.Thus to date many extremophilic microorganisms including bacteria,archaea and fungi have been tested for their tolerance to extreme conditions in the stratosphere region of lower near space[4].
