We spoke to several planetary scientists about the profound significance of responsible research on planets like Mars and Venus and on moons like Titan and Europa. These researchers included James Head, Louis and Elizabeth Scherck Distinguished Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University, investigator on several NASA and Russian Space missions, and current co-investigator for the NASA MESSENGER mission to Mercury and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter; Lynn J. Rothschild, evolutionary biologist and astrobiologist at NASA Ames Research Center, Professor of Astrobiology and Space Exploration at Stanford and Brown Universities, and our team mentor; Jill Tarter, Bernard M. Oliver Chair for Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Research at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, California; and Dr. Alan Stern, former chief of all space and Earth science programs (2007-2008), current leader of NASA’s New Horizons mission to Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, and current Chief Scientist at World View Enterprises, a company developing high-altitude balloons for commercial use in research and private space exploration.

(Click here to see video interviews with Professor Head, Professor Rothschild and Dr. Tarter.)

These researchers conveyed to us the inestimable value of origin of life research on other planets. This research helps us better understand and appreciate our position in the universe. It forces us to reconsider our definitions of life (if we found “life” on another planet, would we recognize it?) and confront the precariousness of human existence (what were the conditions that allowed life to appear and evolve?). NASA research on Mars also explores the possibility of human interplanetary colonization.

Interplanetary research is expensive both in terms of money and of time. It depends upon sturdy, efficient research tools that can supply information to current scientists without compromising future studies. Biological research tools (like our balloon) that can be developed onsite and thus eliminate transportation costs would, in theory, propel research forward. However, any potential benefit to this technology would be quickly negated if those tools were to contaminate the planet with Earth life.

Developers of biotechnology for space research therefore need to go to great lengths to mitigate the risk of interplanetary contamination. NASA’s Office of Planetary Protection (https://planetaryprotection.nasa.gov/about) has established a set of guidelines by which to evaluate appropriate precautions for planetary research. These guidelines are designed to protect “solar system bodies […] from contamination by Earth life, and [to protect] Earth from possible life forms that may be returned from other solar system bodies.” The policies most relevant to our summer research include “NPR 8020.12D: Planetary Protection Provisions for Robotic Extraterrestrial Missions” and “NPG 8020.7G: Biological Control for Outbound and Inbound Planetary Spacecraft.” Since our bioballoon would ideally be used for research on planets with the potential to support Earth life, it would need to comply with the Mission Category IVb and IVc regulations designed for landing/probe missions investigating extant life on Mars.

After reviewing these documents, we quickly realized that if we wanted to develop a practical tool for interplanetary life research, that tool would need to be completely devoid of life. Though our materials could be produced in living organisms, the final balloon mechanisms would need to work in vitro. We then determined our project categories:

1) We would need to produce materials in bacteria that could be used for a balloon membrane. These materials would need to be extracted from the bacteria and thoroughly purified before balloon construction.

2) We would need to come up with atmospheric sensing and UV protection mechanisms that could operate in vitro and attach to a balloon membrane.

The problem of how one might operate a Mars onsite synthetic biology lab and sterilize the resulting materials remains an area for future research.

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