Extraterrestrial sample curation

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Processing facility at NASA's Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Directorate (ARES) Lunar Sample Processing Facility NASA JSC DSCN0202.JPG
Processing facility at NASA's Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Directorate (ARES)

The curation of extraterrestrial samples (astromaterials) obtained by sample-return missions takes place at facilities specially designed to preserve both the sample integrity and protect the Earth. Astromaterials are classified as either non-restricted or restricted, depending on the nature of the Solar System body. Non-restricted samples include the Moon, asteroids, comets, solar particles and space dust. Restricted bodies include planets or moons suspected to have either past or present habitable environments to microscopic life, and therefore must be treated as extremely biohazardous.

Contents

Overview

Spacecraft instruments are subject to mass and power constraints, in addition to the limitations imposed by the extreme environment of outer space on the sensitive science instruments, so bringing extraterrestrial material to Earth is desired for extensive scientific analyses. For the purpose of planetary protection, astromaterial samples brought to Earth by sample-return missions must be received and curated in a specially-designed and equipped biocontainment facility that must also double as a cleanroom to preserve the science value of the samples.

Samples brought from non-restricted bodies such as the Moon, asteroids, comets, solar particles and space dust, are processed at specialized facilities rated Biosafety level-3 (BSL-3). Samples brought to Earth from a planet or moon suspected to have either past or present habitable environments to microscopic life would make it a Category V body, and must be curated at facilities rated Biosafety level-4 (BSL-4), as agreed in the Article IX of the Outer Space Treaty. [1] [2] [3] However, the existing BSL-4 facilities in the world do not have the complex requirements to ensure the preservation and protection of Earth and the sample simultaneously. [4] While existing BSL-4 facilities deal primarily with fairly well-known organisms, a BSL-4 facility focused on extraterrestrial samples must pre-plan the systems carefully while being mindful that there will be unforeseen issues during sample evaluation and curation that will require independent thinking and solutions. [5] A challenge is that, while it is relatively easy to simply contain the samples once returned to Earth, researchers will want to take a portion and perform analyses. During all these handling procedures, the samples would need to be protected from Earthly contamination and from contact with the atmosphere. [6] [7] [8] [9]

Non-restricted materials

OSIRIS-REx's Sample Return Capsule in Utah after reentry to Earth OSIRIS-REx Sample Return (NHQ202309240002).jpg
OSIRIS-REx's Sample Return Capsule in Utah after reentry to Earth

As of 2019, only the Japanese space agency JAXA and the United States space agency NASA operate BSL-3 laboratories in the world exclusively dedicated to the curation of samples from non-restricted bodies. [12] [13] [14] The key feature of JAXA's curation facility, the Extraterrestrial Sample Curation Center, is the ability to observe, take out a portion and preserve a precious return-sample without being exposed to the atmosphere and other contaminants. [15]

The Luna Soviet missions samples are studied and stored at the Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry at the Russian Academy of Sciences. [16]

Restricted materials

Working inside a Biosafety level 4 laboratory with air hoses providing positive air pressure NIAID Integrated Research Facility - Positive Pressure Personnel Suit.jpg
Working inside a Biosafety level 4 laboratory with air hoses providing positive air pressure

Return-samples obtained from a Category V body, must be curated at facilities rated Biosafety level-4 (BSL-4). Because the existing BSL-4 facilities in the world do not have the complex requirements to ensure the preservation and protection of Earth and the sample simultaneously, [4] there are currently at least two proposals to build a BSL-4 facility dedicated to curation of restricted (potentially biohazard) extraterrestrial materials.

The first is the European Sample Curation Facility (ESCF), [17] [18] proposed to be built in Vienna, would curate non-restricted samples as well as BSL-4 biocontainment of restricted material obtained from Category V bodies such as Mars, Europa, Enceladus, etc. [17]
The other proposal is by NASA and is tentatively known as the Mars Sample-Return Receiving Facility (MSRRF). [19] [20] At least three different designs were submitted in 2009. [4] If funded, this American facility would be expected to take 7 to 10 years from design to completion, [21] [22] and an additional two years is recommended for the staff to become proficient and accustomed to the facilities. [21] NASA is also assessing a 2017 proposal to build a mobile and modular BSL-4 facility to secure a sample return capsule at the landing site to conduct preliminary biohazard analyses. [23] After completion of biohazard testing, decisions could be made to sterilize the sample or transport all or portions to a permanent quarantine storage facility anywhere in the world. [23]

The systems of such facilities must be able to contain unknown biohazards, as the sizes of any putative alien microorganisms or infectious agents are unknown. Ideally it should filter particles of 0.01 μm or larger, and release of a particle 0.05 μm or larger is unacceptable under any circumstance. [24] The reason for this extremely small size limit of 0.01 μm is for consideration of gene transfer agents (GTAs) which are virus-like particles that are produced by some microorganisms that package random segments of DNA capable of horizontal gene transfer. [24] These randomly incorporate segments of the host genome and can transfer them to other evolutionarily distant hosts, and do that without killing the new host. In this way many archaea and bacteria can swap DNA with each other. This raises the possibility that Martian life, if it has a common origin with Earth life in the distant past, could swap DNA with Earth microorganisms in the same way. [24] Another reason for the 0.01 μm limit is because of the discovery of ultramicrobacteria as small as 0.2 μm across. [24]

Robotic advocates consider that humans represent a significant source of contamination for the samples, and that a BSL-4 facility with robotic systems is the best way forward. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biosafety level</span> Level of the biocontainment precautions required to isolate dangerous biological agents

A biosafety level (BSL), or pathogen/protection level, is a set of biocontainment precautions required to isolate dangerous biological agents in an enclosed laboratory facility. The levels of containment range from the lowest biosafety level 1 (BSL-1) to the highest at level 4 (BSL-4). In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have specified these levels in a publication referred to as BMBL. In the European Union, the same biosafety levels are defined in a directive. In Canada the four levels are known as Containment Levels. Facilities with these designations are also sometimes given as P1 through P4, as in the term P3 laboratory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biological hazard</span> Biological material that poses serious risks to the health of living organisms

A biological hazard, or biohazard, is a biological substance that poses a threat to the health of living organisms, primarily humans. This could include a sample of a microorganism, virus or toxin that can adversely affect human health. A biohazard could also be a substance harmful to other living beings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planetary protection</span> Guiding principle of a space mission

Planetary protection is a guiding principle in the design of an interplanetary mission, aiming to prevent biological contamination of both the target celestial body and the Earth in the case of sample-return missions. Planetary protection reflects both the unknown nature of the space environment and the desire of the scientific community to preserve the pristine nature of celestial bodies until they can be studied in detail.

The Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) is a scientific research institute dedicated to study of the solar system, its formation, evolution, and current state. The Institute is part of the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) and is supported by the Science Mission Directorate of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Located at 3600 Bay Area Boulevard in Houston, Texas, the LPI is an intellectual leader in lunar and planetary science. The Institute serves as a scientific forum attracting world-class visiting scientists, postdoctoral fellows, students, and resident experts; supports and serves the research community through newsletters, meetings, and other activities; collects and disseminates planetary data while facilitating the community's access to NASA astromaterials samples and facilities; engages and excites the public about space science; and invests in the development of future generations of scientists. The LPI sponsors and organizes several workshops and conferences throughout the year, including the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (LPSC) held in March in the Houston area.

The interplanetary dust cloud, or zodiacal cloud, consists of cosmic dust that pervades the space between planets within planetary systems, such as the Solar System. This system of particles has been studied for many years in order to understand its nature, origin, and relationship to larger bodies. There are several methods to obtain space dust measurement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sample-return mission</span> Spacecraft mission

A sample-return mission is a spacecraft mission to collect and return samples from an extraterrestrial location to Earth for analysis. Sample-return missions may bring back merely atoms and molecules or a deposit of complex compounds such as loose material and rocks. These samples may be obtained in a number of ways, such as soil and rock excavation or a collector array used for capturing particles of solar wind or cometary debris. Nonetheless, concerns have been raised that the return of such samples to planet Earth may endanger Earth itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mars sample-return mission</span> Mars mission to collect rock and dust samples

A Mars sample-return (MSR) mission is a proposed mission to collect rock and dust samples on Mars and return them to Earth. Such a mission would allow more extensive analysis than that allowed by onboard sensors.

<i>Hayabusa2</i> Japanese space mission to asteroid Ryugu

Hayabusa2 is an asteroid sample-return mission operated by the Japanese state space agency JAXA. It is a successor to the Hayabusa mission, which returned asteroid samples for the first time in June 2010. Hayabusa2 was launched on 3 December 2014 and rendezvoused in space with near-Earth asteroid 162173 Ryugu on 27 June 2018. It surveyed the asteroid for a year and a half and took samples. It left the asteroid in November 2019 and returned the samples to Earth on 5 December 2020 UTC. Its mission has now been extended through at least 2031, when it will rendezvous with the small, rapidly-rotating asteroid 1998 KY26.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extraterrestrial materials</span> Natural objects that originated in outer space

Extraterrestrial material refers to natural objects now on Earth that originated in outer space. Such materials include cosmic dust and meteorites, as well as samples brought to Earth by sample return missions from the Moon, asteroids and comets, as well as solar wind particles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">101955 Bennu</span> Carbonaceous asteroid

101955 Bennu (provisional designation 1999 RQ36) is a carbonaceous asteroid in the Apollo group discovered by the LINEAR Project on 11 September 1999. It is a potentially hazardous object that is listed on the Sentry Risk Table and has the highest cumulative rating on the Palermo Technical Impact Hazard Scale. It has a cumulative 1-in-1,750 chance of impacting Earth between 2178 and 2290 with the greatest risk being on 24 September 2182. It is named after Bennu, the ancient Egyptian mythological bird associated with the Sun, creation, and rebirth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">162173 Ryugu</span> Apollo asteroid

162173 Ryugu, provisional designation 1999 JU3, is a near-Earth object and a potentially hazardous asteroid of the Apollo group. It measures approximately 900 metres (3,000 ft) in diameter and is a dark object of the rare spectral type Cb, with qualities of both a C-type asteroid and a B-type asteroid. In June 2018, the Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa2 arrived at the asteroid. After making measurements and taking samples, Hayabusa2 left Ryugu for Earth in November 2019 and returned the sample capsule to Earth on 5 December 2020. The samples showed the presence of organic compounds, such as uracil (one of the four components in RNA) and vitamin B3.

Interplanetary contamination refers to biological contamination of a planetary body by a space probe or spacecraft, either deliberate or unintentional.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OSIRIS-REx</span> NASA sample return mission, launched in 2016

OSIRIS-REx was a NASA asteroid-study and sample-return mission that visited and collected samples from 101955 Bennu, a carbonaceous near-Earth asteroid. The material, returned in September 2023, is expected to enable scientists to learn more about the formation and evolution of the Solar System, its initial stages of planet formation, and the source of organic compounds that led to the formation of life on Earth. Following the completion of the primary mission, the spacecraft is planned to conduct a flyby of asteroid 99942 Apophis as OSIRIS-APEX.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Planetary surface</span> Where the material of a planetary masss outer crust contacts its atmosphere or outer space

A planetary surface is where the solid or liquid material of certain types of astronomical objects contacts the atmosphere or outer space. Planetary surfaces are found on solid objects of planetary mass, including terrestrial planets, dwarf planets, natural satellites, planetesimals and many other small Solar System bodies (SSSBs). The study of planetary surfaces is a field of planetary geology known as surface geology, but also a focus on a number of fields including planetary cartography, topography, geomorphology, atmospheric sciences, and astronomy. Land is the term given to non-liquid planetary surfaces. The term landing is used to describe the collision of an object with a planetary surface and is usually at a velocity in which the object can remain intact and remain attached.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility</span> NASA facility in Houston, Texas

The Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility (LSLF) is a repository and laboratory facility at NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, opened in 1979 to house geologic samples returned from the Moon by the Apollo program missions to the lunar surface between 1969 and 1972. The facility preserves most of the 382 kilograms (842 lb) of lunar material returned over the course of Apollo program and other extraterrestrial samples, along with associated data records. It also contains laboratories for processing and studying the samples without contamination.

CAESAR (spacecraft) Proposed sample-return mission to a comet

CAESAR is a sample-return mission concept to comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko. The mission was proposed in 2017 to NASA's New Frontiers program mission 4, and on 20 December 2017 it was one of two finalists selected for further concept development. On 27 June 2019, the other finalist, the Dragonfly mission, was chosen instead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Extraterrestrial Sample Curation Center</span> Observation facility of JAXA

The Planetary Material Sample Curation Facility (PMSCF), commonly known as the Extraterrestrial Sample Curation Center is the facility where Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) conducts the curation works of extraterrestrial materials retrieved by some sample-return missions. They work closely with Japan's Astromaterials Science Research Group. Its objectives include documentation, preservation, preparation, and distribution of samples. All samples collected are made available for international distribution upon request.

References

  1. ↑ s:Outer Space Treaty of 1967#Article IX
  2. ↑ Full text of the Outer Space Treaty Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies Archived 2013-07-08 at the Wayback Machine - See Article IX
  3. ↑ Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES) (2008). "Planetary protection treaties and recommendations". Archived from the original on 2014-08-20. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Hsu, Jeremy (3 December 2009). "How to Protect Mars Samples on Earth". Space.com.
  5. ↑ Planning for the Analytic Environment to Conduct Life Detection Experiments on Samples Returned from Mars: Observations and Issues (2012) D. S. Bass, D. W. Beaty, C. C. Allen, A. C. Allwood, L. E. Borg, K. E. Buxbaum1, J. A. Hurowitz and M. D. Schulte. Lunar and Planetary Institute. 2012. Accessed: 19 August 2018.
  6. ↑ Mars Sample Return Receiving Facility - A Draft Test Protocol for Detecting Possible Biohazards in Martian Samples Returned to Earth (PDF) (Report). 2002. A Sample Return Facility will require combining technologies used for constructing maximum containment laboratories (e.g. Biosafety level 4 labs) with cleanroom technologies which will be needed to protect the Mars samples from Earth contamination.
  7. ↑ A Draft Test Protocol for Detecting Possible Biohazards in Martian Samples Returned to Earth Archived 2006-02-22 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ Cleanroom Robotics -Appropriate Technology for a Sample Receiving Facility. 2005.
  9. ↑ "2010 Mars Sample Return Orbiter decadal survey" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-05-08. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
  10. ↑ Kuthunur, Sharmila (13 December 2023). "'What is that material?': Potentially hazardous asteroid Bennu stumps scientists with its odd makeup - Scientists found signs of organic molecules in the first samples of potentially hazardous asteroid Bennu, as well as a 'head scratching' material that has yet to be identified". LiveScience . Archived from the original on 14 December 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
  11. ↑ Rabie, Passant (15 December 2023). "It's Been 2 Months. Why Can't NASA Open the Asteroid Sample Container? - The space agency is having to develop new tools to crack open the canister containing bits from asteroid Bennu". Gizmodo . Archived from the original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  12. ↑ Davis, Jason (5 July 2018). "What's the benefit of sample-return?". The Planetary Society.
  13. ↑ Allen, Carlton; Allton, Judith; Lofgren, Gary; Righter, Kevin; Zolensky, Michael (2011). "Curating NASA's extraterrestrial samples—Past, present, and future". Geochemistry. 71 (1): 1–20. Bibcode:2011ChEG...71....1A. doi:10.1016/j.chemer.2010.12.003. hdl: 2060/20100042395 .
  14. ↑ Curating NASA's Future Extraterrestrial Samplke COllections: How do we achieve maximum proficiency? (PDF). Francis McCubbin, etal. 41st COSPAR Scientific Assembly 2016.
  15. ↑ Current status of JAXA's Extraterrestrial Sample Curation Center. (PDF). M. Abe, T. Yada, M. Uesugi, Y. Karouji, A. Nakato, K. Kumagai, and T. Okada1. 2014.
  16. ↑ Transport to Curation Facility. Euro-CARES. Andrea Longobardo, Fabrizio Dirri, Ernesto Palomba. 31 October 2016.
  17. 1 2 EURO EURO-CARES Extraterrestrial Sample Curation Facility: Architecture as an enabler of science. (PDF) Aurore Hutzler, Emre Kilic, Allan Bennett, Ludovic Ferrière. 47th International Conference on Environmental Systems, 16–20 July 2017, Charleston, South Carolina. Document ICES-2017-323.
  18. ↑ EURO-CARES. European Curation of Astromaterials Returned from Exploration of Space. Accessed: 25 September 2018.
  19. ↑ Ronald Atlas (2002). "Mars Sample Return Receiving Facility" (PDF). NASA.
  20. ↑ Ronald Atlas (2008). "Mars Sample Return Receiving Facility" (PDF). NASA.
  21. 1 2 "7: "Sample-Receiving Facility and Program Oversight"". Assessment of Planetary Protection Requirements for Mars Sample Return Missions (Report). National Research Council. 2009. p. 59.
  22. ↑ Mars Sample Return: Issues and Recommendations (Planetary Protection Office Summary) Task Group on Issues in Sample Return. National Academies Press, Washington, DC (1997)
  23. 1 2 Mobile/Modular BSL-4 Facilities for Meeting Restricted Earth Return Containment Requirements. M. J. Calaway, F. M. McCubbin, J. H. Allton, R. A. Zeigler, and L. F. Pace. (PDF) NASA. 2017.
  24. 1 2 3 4 European Science Foundation - Mars Sample Return backward contamination - Strategic advice and requirements Archived 2016-06-02 at the Wayback Machine
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