Resistance of bacterial endospores to outer space for planetary protection purposes--experiment PROTECT of the EXPOSE-E mission

Spore-forming bacteria are of particular concern in the context of planetary protection because their tough endospores may withstand certain sterilization procedures as well as the harsh environments of outer space or planetary surfaces. To test their hardiness on a hypothetical mission to Mars, spores of Bacillus subtilis 168 and Bacillus pumilus SAFR-032 were exposed for 1.5 years to selected parameters of space in the experiment PROTECT during the EXPOSE-E mission on board the International Space Station. Mounted as dry layers on spacecraft-qualified aluminum coupons, the "trip to Mars" spores experienced space vacuum, cosmic and extraterrestrial solar radiation, and temperature fluctuations, whereas the "stay on Mars" spores were subjected to a simulated martian environment that included atmospheric pressure and composition, and UV and cosmic radiation. The survival of spores from both assays was determined after retrieval. It was clearly shown that solar extraterrestrial UV radiation (λ≥110?nm) as well as the martian UV spectrum (λ≥200?nm) was the most deleterious factor applied; in some samples only a few survivors were recovered from spores exposed in monolayers. Spores in multilayers survived better by several orders of magnitude. All other environmental parameters encountered by the "trip to Mars" or "stay on Mars" spores did little harm to the spores, which showed about 50% survival or more. The data demonstrate the high chance of survival of spores on a Mars mission, if protected against solar irradiation. These results will have implications for planetary protection considerations.     

Sq(H) field variations at Sonmiani geomagnetic observatory,Pakistan for solar cycle 24

In this study, Sq(H) field results for Sonmiani geomagnetic observatory (SON), Pakistan are presented first time for solar cycle i.e., Solar Cycle 24. Sonmiani observatory was established in 2008 and was included in the list of INTERMAGNET Magnetic Observatory (IMO) in 2012. The analysis of Sq(H) field is performed to examine diurnal, annual and seasonal behaviour of Sq(H) field at Sonmiani along with Honolulu which is used as reference observatory. Both the observatories lie at the Equatorial Ionisation Anomaly (EIA) crest. In general strong dependency of Sq(H) field on solar cycle has been observed. First peak of SC24 was visible in Sq(H) field at both observatories. However, at HON maximum Sq(H) was observed in 2015 instead of 2014, a year later than the year of solar maximum. Prominent longitudinal difference has been noted between both observatories. At HON, maximum Sq(H) was observed during equinox while at SON it was noted during equinox and summer as a consequence of shift in latitude of Sq focus. Phase shift of Sq(H) at SON followed a general trend, that is maximum Sq(H) shifted to later hours in solar maximum as compared to solar minimum. Whereas, an opposite trend was noted at HON which might be due to coastal effect. In case of seasonal phase shift, at both observatories maximum Sq(H) occurred at later hours in summer than in winter which is opposite to the results obtained by many workers. These points need further investigation and geomagnetic as well as wind, and electric field data of other observatories situated at the EIA crest region is required to interpret the Sq(H) phase shift extensively.