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The O/OREOS mission—Astrobiology in low Earth orbit

2012; Elsevier BV; Volume: 93; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.actaastro.2012.09.009

1879-2030

P. Ehrenfreund, Antonio J. Ricco, David Squires, Chris Kitts, Elwood Agasid, N. Bramall, K. L. Bryson, J. Chittenden, Catharine A. Conley, Amanda Cook, Rocco L. Mancinelli, A. L. Mattioda, Wayne L. Nicholson, R. C. Quinn, O. Santos, G. Tahu, Mary A. Voytek, C. Beasley, L. Bica, Millan Diaz-Aguado, C. Friedericks, M. Henschke, David Landis, Ed Luzzi, Diana Ly, N. Mai, Giovanni Minelli, Michael McIntyre, Michael Neumann, Macarena Parra, Matthew Piccini, Richard Rasay, Robert Ricks, Aaron Schooley, Eric Stackpole, Linda Timucin, Bruce Yost, Anthony Young,

Planetary Science and Exploration

The O/OREOS (Organism/Organic Exposure to Orbital Stresses) nanosatellite is the first science demonstration spacecraft and flight mission of the NASA Astrobiology Small-Payloads Program (ASP). O/OREOS was launched successfully on November 19, 2010, to a high-inclination (72°), 650-km Earth orbit aboard a US Air Force Minotaur IV rocket from Kodiak, Alaska. O/OREOS consists of 3 conjoined cubesat (each 1000 cm3) modules: (i) a control bus; (ii) the Space Environment Survivability of Living Organisms (SESLO) experiment; and (iii) the Space Environment Viability of Organics (SEVO) experiment. Among the innovative aspects of the O/OREOS mission are a real-time analysis of the photostability of organics and biomarkers and the collection of data on the survival and metabolic activity for microorganisms at 3 times during the 6-month mission. We report on the spacecraft characteristics, payload capabilities, and present operational phase and flight data from the O/OREOS mission. The science and technology rationale of O/OREOS supports NASA′s scientific exploration program by investigating the local space environment as well as space biology relevant to Moon and Mars missions. It also serves as a precursor for experiments on small satellites, the International Space Station (ISS), future free-flyers and lunar surface exposure facilities.