At the end of August, NASA sends yeast on an official mission to study deep space biology

Astronauts live in a very harsh environment aboard the International Space Station, orbit above Earth in microgravity weightlessness, and rely on commercial cargo missions about every two months for refueling and new experiments.

However, the station is relatively shielded from space radiation.

The Earth's magnetic field protects the station crew from too much radiation that can damage the DNA in astronauts' cells and lead to serious health problems.

When future astronauts embark on long journeys deeper into space, they will venture into more dangerous radioactive environments and will require significant protection.

With the help of a biological experiment inside a small satellite called BioSentinel, scientists at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley are taking an early step toward finding solutions to this problem.

Assembling a "Biocentinal" payload containing yeast cells at a NASA Research Center

What is "Biocentenil"?

A miniature satellite in the form of a "Rubik's" cube is made up of small cubes, the size of which does not exceed 10 centimeters, and the masses of which do not exceed two kilograms per unit, often using ready-made commercial components in its design.

BioSentinel is scheduled to launch on the unmanned Artemis 1 experimental flight, planned for NASA's Artemis program, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"Artemis 1" is an unmanned test flight planned for NASA's Artemis program, and it will be the first integrated flight of the "Orion capsule" and is expected to launch on August 29.

Previously known as "Exploration Mission 1" but was renamed after the start of the Artemis program, it will be launched from the launch complex "B39" at the Kennedy Space Center, where the "Orion" spacecraft will be sent on a mission for 25.5 days, 6 of which are in a retrograde orbit around the moon.

This mission will test the suitability of the Orion spacecraft and the space launch system rocket for manned flights, starting with the second test of the “Orion” system during the “Artemis 2” mission scheduled to launch in 2024, which will carry a crew of 4 astronauts around the moon on a mission for a week, and will return before Assembly of the lunar gate station.

The first long-term biological experiment in deep space

To explore the basics of what happens to organisms in space, researchers often use "model organisms".

This helps to show the differences between what is happening in both space and Earth more clearly, and in the case of "Biosentinel" NASA uses yeast.

The kind of high-energy radiation encountered in deep space can cause breaks in the two tangled strands of DNA that carry genetic information.

Oftentimes, DNA damage can be repaired by cells in a very similar process between yeast and humans.

BioSentinel will be the first long-term biological experiment to take place outside the space station's orbit near Earth.

The satellite - the size of a shoebox - will travel into deep space on a rocket and then fly across the moon in a direction that orbits the sun.

Once the satellite is in position outside our planet's protective magnetic field, the BioSentinel team will begin a series of remote experiments, activating two strains of yeast to grow in the presence of space radiation.

Yeast samples will be activated at different time points during the 6-12 month task.

Microfluidic card will be used to study the effect of radiation in interplanetary space on yeast (NASA)

One strain is yeast normally found in nature, while another strain was selected that had trouble repairing its DNA.

By comparing how the two strains respond to the radiation environment in deep space, researchers will explore more about the health risks to humans during long-term exploration, and then work to develop informed strategies to reduce potential harm.

critical data

Data on radiation levels, yeast growth and metabolism will be collected and stored on board the spacecraft and then transmitted to the science team back on Earth.

A backup set containing yeast samples will be activated if the satellite encounters an event, such as a radiation storm from the sun that presents an especially severe health risk to future deep space explorers.

The biosentinel data are expected to be crucial to interpreting the effects of space radiation exposure, reducing the risks associated with long-term human exploration, and confirming existing models of the effects of space radiation on living organisms.