@article{deVeraBoettgerdelaTorreNoetzeletal.2012, author = {de Vera, Jean-Pierre Paul and B{\"o}ttger, Ute and de la Torre N{\"o}tzel, Rosa and Sanchez, Francisco J. and Grunow, Dana and Schmitz, Nicole and Lange, Caroline and H{\"u}bers, Heinz-Wilhelm and Billi, Daniela and Baque, Mickael and Rettberg, Petra and Rabbow, Elke and Reitz, G{\"u}nther and Berger, Thomas and M{\"o}ller, Ralf and Bohmeier, Maria and Horneck, Gerda and Westall, Frances and J{\"a}nchen, Jochen and Fritz, J{\"o}rg and Meyer, Cornelia and Onofri, Silvano and Selbmann, Laura and Zucconi, Laura and Kozyrovska, Natalia and Leya, Thomas and Foing, Bernard and Demets, Rene and Cockell, Charles S. and Bryce, Casey and Wagner, Dirk and Serrano, Paloma and Edwards, Howell G. M. and Joshi, Jasmin Radha and Huwe, Bj{\"o}rn and Ehrenfreund, Pascale and Elsaesser, Andreas and Ott, Sieglinde and Meessen, Joachim and Feyh, Nina and Szewzyk, Ulrich and Jaumann, Ralf and Spohn, Tilman}, title = {Supporting Mars exploration BIOMEX in Low Earth Orbit and further astrobiological studies on the Moon using Raman and PanCam technology}, series = {Planetary and space science}, volume = {74}, journal = {Planetary and space science}, number = {1}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0032-0633}, doi = {10.1016/j.pss.2012.06.010}, pages = {103 -- 110}, year = {2012}, abstract = {The Low Earth Orbit (LEO) experiment Biology and Mars Experiment (BIOMEX) is an interdisciplinary and international space research project selected by ESA. The experiment will be accommodated on the space exposure facility EXPOSE-R2 on the International Space Station (ISS) and is foreseen to be launched in 2013. The prime objective of BIOMEX is to measure to what extent biomolecules, such as pigments and cellular components, are resistant to and able to maintain their stability under space and Mars-like conditions. The results of BIOMEX will be relevant for space proven biosignature definition and for building a biosignature data base (e.g. the proposed creation of an international Raman library). The library will be highly relevant for future space missions such as the search for life on Mars. The secondary scientific objective is to analyze to what extent terrestrial extremophiles are able to survive in space and to determine which interactions between biological samples and selected minerals (including terrestrial, Moon- and Mars analogs) can be observed under space and Mars-like conditions. In this context, the Moon will be an additional platform for performing similar experiments with negligible magnetic shielding and higher solar and galactic irradiation compared to LEO. Using the Moon as an additional astrobiological exposure platform to complement ongoing astrobiological LEO investigations could thus enhance the chances of detecting organic traces of life on Mars. We present a lunar lander mission with two related objectives: a lunar lander equipped with Raman and PanCam instruments which can analyze the lunar surface and survey an astrobiological exposure platform. This dual use of testing mission technology together with geo- and astrobiological analyses will significantly increase the science return, and support the human preparation objectives. It will provide knowledge about the Moon's surface itself and, in addition, monitor the stability of life-markers, such as cells, cell components and pigments, in an extraterrestrial environment with much closer radiation properties to the surface of Mars. The combination of a Raman data base of these data together with data from LEO and space simulation experiments, will lead to further progress on the analysis and interpretation of data that we will obtain from future Moon and Mars exploration missions.}, language = {en} } @article{PostbergGruenHoranyietal.2011, author = {Postberg, Frank and Gr{\"u}n, Eberhard and Horanyi, Mihaly and Kempf, Sascha and Krueger, Harald and Schmidt, J{\"u}rgen and Spahn, Frank and Srama, Ralf and Sternovsky, Zoltan and Trieloff, Mario}, title = {Compositional mapping of planetary moons by mass spectrometry of dust ejecta}, series = {Planetary and space science}, volume = {59}, journal = {Planetary and space science}, number = {14}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Oxford}, issn = {0032-0633}, doi = {10.1016/j.pss.2011.05.001}, pages = {1815 -- 1825}, year = {2011}, abstract = {Classical methods to analyze the surface composition of atmosphereless planetary objects from an orbiter are IR and gamma ray spectroscopy and neutron backscatter measurements. The idea to analyze surface properties with an in-situ instrument has been proposed by Johnson et al. (1998). There, it was suggested to analyze Europa's thin atmosphere with an ion and neutral gas spectrometer. Since the atmospheric components are released by sputtering of the moon's surface, they provide a link to surface composition. Here we present an improved, complementary method to analyze rocky or icy dust particles as samples of planetary objects from which they were ejected. Such particles, generated by the ambient meteoroid bombardment that erodes the surface, are naturally present on all atmosphereless moons and planets. The planetary bodies are enshrouded in clouds of ballistic dust particles, which are characteristic samples of their surfaces. In situ mass spectroscopic analysis of these dust particles impacting onto a detector of an orbiting spacecraft reveals their composition. Recent instrumental developments and tests allow the chemical characterization of ice and dust particles encountered at speeds as low as 1 km/s and an accurate reconstruction of their trajectories. Depending on the sampling altitude, a dust trajectory sensor can trace back the origin of each analyzed grain with about 10 km accuracy at the surface. Since the detection rates are of the order of thousand per orbit, a spatially resolved mapping of the surface composition can be achieved. Certain bodies (e.g., Europa) with particularly dense dust clouds, could provide impact statistics that allow for compositional mapping even on single flybys. Dust impact velocities are in general sufficiently high at orbiters about planetary objects with a radius > 1000 km and with only a thin or no atmosphere. In this work we focus on the scientific benefit of a dust spectrometer on a spacecraft orbiting Earth's Moon as well as Jupiter's Galilean satellites. This 'dust spectrometer' approach provides key chemical and isotopic constraints for varying provinces or geological formations on the surfaces, leading to better understanding of the body's geological evolution.}, language = {en} }