The past, present and future of Biopan

Advances in Space Research 36 (2005) 311–316 www.elsevier.com/locate/asr

The past, present and future of BIOPAN R. Demets a b

a,*

, W. Schulte b, P. Baglioni

a

ESTEC, HME-GMS, Keplerlaan 1, NL-2201 AZ Noordwijk, The Netherlands Kayser-Threde GmbH, Wolfratshauser Straße 48, D-81379 Mu¨nchen, Germany

Received 28 October 2004; received in revised form 22 June 2005; accepted 6 July 2005

Abstract BIOPAN is an exposure facility for biological experiments in space. Between 1992 and 1999 BIOPAN completed four missions in low Earth orbit on Russian FOTON satellites, whereby 16 experiments were conducted by Baglioni and Demets [Baglioni, P., Demets, R. Astrobiology on recoverable carriers: the ESA BIOPAN experience, in: 51th International Astronautical Congress, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2–6 October 2000, IAF/IAA-00-4.2.02, 2000.]. A fifth attempt to put BIOPAN in orbit failed in 2002 when the launcher crashed. The BIOPAN programme will be resumed with two more flights in 2005 and 2006. BIOPAN is a pan-shaped container, fitted onto the outside of the FOTON spacecraft, carrying experiments with a total mass of 3.5 kg. By opening a motor-driven lid, the experiments are exposed to solar light, cosmic rays, vacuum and wide temperature fluctuations. The space environment is monitored by solar sensors, thermometers and investigator-provided radiation detectors. During re-entry, the lid is closed to prevent overheating of the experiments. The orbital parameters selected for the BIOPAN missions are highly consistent. This facilitates a repetition of the experiments if necessary, and it helps to predict the experiment environment on future flights. Over the years the capabilities of BIOPAN have gradually been enhanced. More, heavier and more complex experiments can now be accommodated, the sensors have been upgraded, power can be provided to the experiments and experiment data can be recorded. BIOPAN is designed and manufactured under ESA contract by Kayser-Threde (Germany) with Kayser Italia (Italy) and TsSKB-Progress (Russia) as subcontractors. This article focuses on the characteristics of BIOPAN as a tool for investigators. Information about the experiments and the scientific results can be found elsewhere. Ó 2005 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Exo/astrobiology; Radiation dosimetry; Radiation biology; BIOPAN; FOTON

1. The origin of BIOPAN BIOPAN was designed in 1990–1991 under an ESA contract as a retrievable exposure platform for biological experiments. Intended for medium-duration missions on Russian retrievable satellites, BIOPAN was envisaged as the successor of the Russian ÔKNAÕ exposure container (KNA = Konte´jner Nau´chnoj Apparatu´ry = Container of Scientific Equipment). The KNA, used by ESA for *

Corresponding author. Tel.: +31 71 565 5081; fax: +31 71 565 3141. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (R. Demets), wolfgang. [email protected] (W. Schulte), [email protected] (P. Baglioni).

radiobiological experiments on three BION missions in 1987, 1989 and 1992, was a passive experiment container with a hinged lid. The lid was open during launch – with the experiments protected only by the nose fairing of the launcher – and during orbital flight. Before landing, the spring-loaded lid was closed so that the experiments were safely stored during the re-entry. The lessons that ESA learned from the KNA resulted directly in the concept of BIOPAN. Although some basic characteristics of the KNA were copied (a pan-shaped structure, a movable lid, experiment positions in the bottom part and in the lid), BIOPAN is by design much more advanced in terms of versatility, controllability, size, experiment accommodation and data acquisition. The lid is opened and closed by telecommand, housekeeping status data are down-

0273-1177/$30 Ó 2005 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.asr.2005.07.005

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linked during the flight, while unwanted temperature excursions in orbit can be countered by active means (heaters), passive means (insulation blankets) or by closing the lid.

2. Description of BIOPAN BIOPAN is a pan-shaped experiment container (diameter: 38 cm, height: 23 cm, mass: 27 kg), which can be fitted onto the outside of the recoverable FOTON spacecraft. A real Ômulti-user facilityÕ, BIOPAN typically carries a variety of experiments with a total mass of max. 3.5 kg per flight, distributed over two circular exposure plates with a total surface area of 1080 cm2. By opening a motor-driven lid in orbit, the experiment packages are exposed to unfiltered solar light, cosmic rays and space vacuum. In addition, just like the unexposed experiments inside the FOTON capsule, the BIOPAN experiments are subjected to microgravity. The space environment is monitored by a set of BIOPAN sensors (see Section 7) in combination with investigator-provided radiation detectors. At the end of the flight, the lid is closed to protect the experiments against the heat of the re-entry. The design of BIOPAN is further explained in Fig. 1.

3. Flight opportunities for BIOPAN In 1991, when ESA approved the plans for BIOPAN, the number of potential flight opportunities was almost unlimited. BIOPAN was compatible with four different types of spacecraft (BION, FOTON, RESURS-F1 and RESURS-F2) with a summed flight frequency of five times per year. Moreover, the FOTON spacecraft was qualified to carry up to

three BIOPANs per mission if so required. The flight duration was either two weeks (BION, FOTON, RESURS-F1) or four weeks (RESURS-F2). However, with the demise of the Soviet Union, the flight frequency of BION, RESURS-F1 and RESURS-F2 fell sharply after 1991. As of today, only FOTON maintains a fairly regular launch schedule, financially secured by the many western European payloads – including BIOPAN – it now carries.

4. The BIOPAN industrial team The prime contractor selected for BIOPAN was the Munich-based Kayser-Threde GmbH. When the BIOPAN programme was started, this company had established a reputation of having good contacts with the (then) Soviet space industry, a unique feat in those pre-EuroMir and pre-ISS days. Under the Kayser-Threde umbrella, several experiments had already flown on RESURS-F1. The design of part of the electronics and software for BIOPAN was farmed out to Kayser Italia from Livorno, a former branch of Kayser-Threde, already independent when BIOPAN was under development. A second subcontractor was TsSKB from Samara, responsible for the heat shield that protects BIOPAN during re-entry. TsSKB is the very company that created the BION, FOTON, RESURS-F1 and RESURS-F2 family of spacecraft, as well as the KNA. The industrial team for BIOPAN has remained unchanged since the beginning.

5. BIOPAN flight history Two prototypes of BIOPAN were completed in 1992, referred to as the TFU-1 and TFU-2 (TFU, test flight

Fig. 1. Configuration of BIOPAN (the parts indicated in the drawing are underlined in the legend below). BIOPAN consists of two main components: the bottom and the lid. The bottom can be screwed onto the outer surface of the FOTON spacecraft. The lid is attached to the bottom by means of an external hinge and an internal opening lever. During launch the lid is closed. At the beginning of the orbital flight the lid is opened by telecommand, whereby the motor-gear drive operates the opening lever. After opening, the experiments, mounted on two carrier plates, are freely exposed to the space environment. At the end of the flight the lid is closed by telecommand, and hermetically sealed by the locking ring in the bottom, which interacts with corresponding notches in the lid. When BIOPAN is closed and locked the experiments are protected against the re-entry heat by the heat shield that covers the bottom and the lid. The configuration of BIOPAN has not been changed since its first flight in 1992.

R. Demets et al. / Advances in Space Research 36 (2005) 311–316

capability that was absent in the earlier models of BIOThe FU-2 is scheduled to fly two missions in 2005 and 2006 (Table 1).

Table 1 BIOPAN flight history

PAN.

Model

Mission

Year

Spacecraft

Status

TFU-1 TFU-2R FU-1

BIOPAN-0 BIOPAN-1 BIOPAN-2 BIOPAN-3 BIOPAN-4 BIOPAN-5 BIOPAN-6

1992 1994 1997 1999 2002 2005 2006

FOTON-8 FOTON-9 FOTON-11 FOTON-12 FOTON-M1 FOTON-M2 FOTON-M3

Mission completed Mission completed Mission completed Mission completed Launcher failure In preparation In preparation

FU-2

313

The qualification flight of BIOPAN in 1992 is referred to as BIOPAN-0, while BIOPAN-1 denotes the first operational flight in 1994. TFU, test flight unit; FU, flight unit.

unit). The TFU-1 was selected for the maiden flight of BIOPAN in 1992. After that single mission, it was returned to Kayser-Threde to be used as Ômock-upÕ for the manufacturing of new harnesses for later BIOPANs. The second prototype, the TFU-2, started out as a qualification model for ground tests, but was subsequently selected – when a new flight opportunity unexpectedly arose – for the second BIOPAN flight. Upgraded to flight standards, its designation was changed to TFU-2R (R, refurbished). Like the TFU-1, the TFU-2R has been preserved. It is nowadays displayed in the Space Expo museum next to ESTEC. The lessons learned from the two TFU missions did not demand significant design modifications and hence the FU-1 (FU, flight unit), the third model of BIOPAN, completed in late-1994, differed only in detail from the two prototypes. The FU1 was destined to have a long career. It completed two missions in 1997 and 1999 and was finally lost in 2002 during the launch failure of FOTON-M1. After the crash, the bruised and battered FU-1 was taken back to ESTEC, where it is now kept in storage. The BIOPAN programme will be continued with the slightly upgraded FU-2, which is currently under construction. The FU-2 is largely identical to its three forerunners but features new electronics because several of the original 1991-style components are no longer on the market. In addition, the experiment platforms have been reinforced to carry more and heavier experiment packages. Power can be provided to a limited set of experiments and experiment data can be recorded, a

6. BIOPAN orbital parameters Over the years the orbital parameters selected for FOthe carrier spacecraft of BIOPAN, have not noticeably changed (Table 2). With the introduction of FOTON-M in 2002, the orbital trajectory became slightly more circular in order to optimize the microgravity levels. From FOTON-M2 onwards, a different launch site will be used (Baikonur rather than Plesetsk), but this will have almost no effect on the orbital inclination. The consistency of the orbital parameters enables the BIOPAN investigators to repeat their experiments as necessary under conditions that – apart from the sun cycle events – are remarkably similar. It also means that the experiment environment for upcoming flights can largely be predicted from the recordings made during previous missions. TON,

7. Experiment environment in BIOPAN 7.1. Data recording The experiment temperatures, the pressure and the solar irradiation are monitored by an integrated set of BIOPAN sensors. The data are stored on board during the mission and can be accessed after the flight. Irradiation by cosmic rays is monitored by investigator-provided detectors. The microgravity environment is not measured in BIOPAN itself, but inside the FOTON capsule by ESA-provided sensors. 7.2. Temperature The temperature history of the experiment samples in orbit depends on the amount of thermal insulation (single foils or multi-layer blankets), on the thermal coupling to the BIOPAN carrier plates, and on the use of

Table 2 BIOPAN orbital parameters, flight duration and launch site (orbital parameters and flight duration for BIOPAN-4 as announced before the crash) Mission

Spacecraft

Apogee (km)

Perigee (km)

Inclination (°)

Duration (d)

Launch site

BIOPAN-0 BIOPAN-1 BIOPAN-2 BIOPAN-3 BIOPAN-4

FOTON-8 FOTON-9 FOTON-11 FOTON-12 FOTON-M1

383 385 385 405 304

228 227 227 225 262

62.8 62.8 62.8 62.8 62.8

15.6 17.6 13.6 14.6 15.6

Plesetsk Plesetsk Plesetsk Plesetsk Plesetsk

Planned BIOPAN-5 BIOPAN-6

FOTON-M2 FOTON-M3

304 304

262 262

63 63

16 12

Baikonur Baikonur

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heaters. It was shown that an uninsulated experiment decoupled from an unheated carrier plate may experience temperature fluctuations from 40 to +60 °C. In contrast, an insulated experiment that is tightly coupled to a heated carrier plate can be maintained at a stable temperature, selectable between +15 and +25 °C. The best option is selected for each experiment on every flight. A problem recognized early on during the development of BIOPAN was the possibility of overheating during atmospheric re-entry at the end of the flight. Therefore, a quite massive heat shield was designed for BIOPAN. While the total weight of BIOPAN including experiments is close to 27 kg, the heat shield is responsible for 12 kg of that figure. This seeming over-design works very well in practice: the peak temperatures recorded in BIOPAN during re-entry and after landing have never gone beyond +30 °C. 7.3. Pressure The pressure sensor in BIOPAN is used for rough monitoring of the gas release from BIOPAN (evacuation) during ascent. 7.4. Solar light Irradiation by solar light is measured by two types of sensors. A radiometer monitors the input of solar light over its entire spectrum from ultraviolet through infrared. Special UV sensors are added to monitor the solar wavelength ranges that are specific to orbital flight. (on Earth there is no incidence of solar UV-C and only a limited incidence of UV-B). On the four missions completed so far the total dose of sunlight has varied from 8.2 to 20.4 kJ cm 2 (Table 3). The total dose depended largely on the time that the lid of BIOPAN was open in orbit. This period varied from 7.8 to 14.8 d (Table 3). The daily dose has varied from 0.99 to 1.38 kJ cm 2 = 2.02– 2.80 SCh (Table 3). On the first three BIOPAN flights successful recordings of solar UV-A were made. The UV-B measurements, which were introduced on BIOPAN-2 (Table 4), have unfortunately failed three times for different reasons: a saturated output signal (BIOPAN-2), a degraded output signal due to stray light (BIOPAN-3) and

Table 4 Solar sensors on BIOPAN Radiometer

UV-A

BIOPAN-0 BIOPAN-1 BIOPAN-2 BIOPAN-3 BIOPAN-4

x x x x x

x x x

Planned BIOPAN-5 BIOPAN-6

x x

UV-B

UV-C

x x x x x

x x

a launcher failure (BIOPAN-4). On BIOPAN-5 and -6 the UV-B measurements will be resumed and a UV-C sensor will be added (Table 4). 7.5. Cosmic radiation A compilation of the radiation measurements that were made on BIOPAN-0, -1, -2 and -3 has been published elsewhere (Reitz et al., 2002). Depending on the level of shielding, the experiments in BIOPAN may absorb a radiation dose of up to 5.6 Gy per day, which is four orders of magnitude higher than the daily dose inside the FOTON capsule or inside the ISS. However, the actual radiation dose absorbed by the experiment samples in BIOPAN is in general much smaller due to their containment. A small change in shielding density may create a dramatic difference. Over the first 0.05 g/cm2 of shielding mass the radiation dose falls steeply down by one order of magnitude, over the first 0.25 g/cm2 by two orders of magnitude, and over the first 1 g/cm2 by three orders of magnitude. 7.6. Microgravity The microgravity environment was measured by ESA on FOTON-12, the spacecraft that carried BIOPAN-3 (Shevtsova et al., 1999). The quasi-steady acceleration level was below 10 4 g over all three orthogonal axes. These impressive figures seem to be representative for a typical FOTON flight.

Table 5 BIOPAN experiments by number Table 3 Solar irradiation in BIOPAN Mission

BIOPAN-0 BIOPAN-1 BIOPAN-2 BIOPAN-3

Lid open (d)

187 355 239 302

h = 7.8 h = 14.8 h = 9.9 h = 12.6

Total dose (kJ cm 2)

Daily dose (kJ cm 2)

(SCh)

8.2 20.4 12.9 12.5

1.05 1.38 1.30 0.99

2.14 2.80 2.65 2.02

Radiation dosimetry

Radiation biology

Exo/astro biology

Chemical evolution

Total

BIOPAN-1 BIOPAN-2 BIOPAN-3 BIOPAN-4

1 1 1 3

3 3 2 2

1 1 1 3

1 1 1

6 6 4 9

Planned BIOPAN-5 BIOPAN-6

3 tbd

2 tbd

3 tbd

1 tbd

9 tbd

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Table 6 Experiments selected for BIOPAN-5 Discipline

Experiment title

Principal investigator

Radiation dosimetry

Measurement of the change of ‘‘averaged LET’’ in various shielding materials by the use of TLDs

Prof. N. Vana Atom Institute of the Austrian Universities Vienna (A)

Active monitoring of the UV and ionising radiation conditions in the Biopan facility

Prof. D-P. Ha¨der University of Erlangen (D)

Radiation dosimetry at the outer surface and inside the recoverable spacecraft Foton

Dr. Yu.A. Akatov IBMP, Moscow (RUS)

An automatic photosystem-II based bio-device to reveal the effect of space radiation on mutants of photosynthetic oxygenic microorganisms

Dr. M.T. Giardi CNR – National Council of Research Roma (I)

Biological assessment of space radiation in low-Earth orbit

Prof. M. Lo¨brich University of Saarland Homburg / Saar (D)

Lichens as extremophile organisms in space

Dr. L.G. Sancho Universidad Complutense de Madrid (E)

Martian soil, solar UV radiation and spores: protection and toxicity

Dr. P. Rettberg Institut fu¨r Flugmedizin DLR – Ko¨ln (D)

The influence of the space environment on the viability of the ancient permafrost microbial communities

Dr. D.A. Gilichinsky Russian Academy of Sciences Pushchino (RUS)

Extraterrestrial delivery of organic molecules

Prof. P. Ehrenfreund Laboratory for Astrophysics Leiden Observatory (NL)

Radiation biology

Exo/Astrobiology

Chemical evolution

8. BIOPAN experiments

9. More plans for BIOPAN

The BIOPAN experiments come under four scientific disciplines: exo/astrobiology, chemical evolution, radiation biology and radiation dosimetry (Table 5). Exo/ astrobiology deals with changes in terrestrial organisms when exposed to the harsh space environment. Chemical evolution does the same, but the test samples are organic molecules. Radiation biology is focused on the biological and biochemical effects that cosmic rays may bring about, while radiation dosimetry is the characterization of those cosmic rays in terms of dose, penetration depth and LET (linear energy transfer). In the Reference section, examples are included of peer-reviewed publications about BIOPAN experiments resorting under each of the four disciplines: Horneck et al. (2001) (exo/astrobiology), Barbier et al. (2002) (chemical evolution), Dousset et al. (1996) (radiation biology), and Reitz et al. (2002) (radiation dosimetry). The results of all the 16 experiments completed on BIOPAN-1 through -3 have been summarized in Demets (2001a,b) and Demets and Baglioni (2001). The new set of nine experiments planned for BIOPAN-5 is identical to the one that succumbed during the crash of BIOPAN-4 (Table 6). The experiments for BIOPAN-6 are still to be selected, and will be derived from a new call for proposals that ESA issued in July 2004.

The two upcoming missions BIOPAN-5 and -6 are aimed at biology-related experiments. BIOPAN can however also be used to qualify materials, mechanisms and devices for space applications. The future ESA Exploration Programme will require a number of experiments of that kind, to be performed in LEO in open space, and BIOPAN has been already indicated as a possible test bed.

References Baglioni, P., Demets, R. Astrobiology on recoverable carriers: the ESA Biopan experience, in: 51th International Astronautical Congress, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2–6 October 2000, IAF/IAA-00-4.2.02, 2000. Barbier, B., Henin, O., Boillot, F., Chabin, A., Chaput, D., Brack, A. Exposure of amino acids and derivates in the Earth orbit. Planet. Space Sci. 50, 353–359, 2002. Demets, R. ESA life science experiments on Bion and Foton Part 1: radiation dosimetry, in: Proceedings of the Foton/Bion International Conference, Samara, Russian Federation, 25–30 June 2000, pp. 166–173, 2001a. Please contact [email protected] in case of difficulties in obtaining this reports. Demets, R., ESA life science experiments on Bion and Foton Part 2: radiation biology, in: Proceedings of the Foton/Bion International Conference, Samara, Russian Federation, 25–30 June 2000, pp. 175–181, 2001b. Please contact [email protected] in case of difficulties in obtaining this reports.

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Demets, R., Baglioni, P., ESA life science experiments on Bion and Foton Part 2: exobiology, in: Proceedings of the Foton/Bion International Conference, Samara, Russian Federation, 25–30 June 2000, pp. 183–189, 2001. Please contact [email protected] in case of difficulties in obtaining this reports. Dousset, N., Moatti, J.-P., Moatti, N., Degre´, M., Eche, B., Gasset, G., Tixador, R. Influence of the environment in space on the biochemical characteristics of human low density lipoproteins. Free Radiat. Res. 24 (1), 69–74, 1996. Horneck, G., Rettberg, P., Reitz, G., Wehner, J., Eschweiler, U., Strauch, K., Panitz, C., Starke, V., Baumstark-Khan, C.

Protection of bacterial spores in space, a contribution to the discussion on panspermia. Origins Life Evol. Biosphere 31, 527–547, 2001. Reitz, G., Facius, R., Bilski, P., Olko, P. Investigation of radiation doses in open space using TLD detectors. Radiat. Prot. Dosimetry 100 (1-4), 533–536, 2002. Shevtsova, V.M., Melnikov, D.E., Legros, J.C. The post flight study of micro accelerations on-board of Russian Spacecraft Foton-12 (study report for ESA). Issue 1/Revision 0. Microgravity Research Centre, Universite´ Libre de Bruxelles, 1999.