ESA experiment investigating effects of cosmic radiation on organic compounds
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February 2018
)
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OREOcube
(
ORganics Exposure in Orbit cube
) is an
experiment
designed by the
European Space Agency
(ESA) with the
NASA
that will investigate the effects of
solar
and
cosmic radiation
on selected
organic compounds
. It will consist in a 12-month orbital study of the effects of the
outer space
environment on
astrobiologically
relevant materials in an external exposure facility on the
International Space Station
(ISS).
The project was originally aimed to be launched in 2016, however as of 2024 it has not yet been launched
[1]
will examine the evolution of complex organic molecules in outer space, as well as the forms in which prebiotic organic compounds has been preserved. It will also study the role that solid mineral surfaces play in the photo-chemical evolution, transport, and distribution of organics. The
principal investigator
is
Pascale Ehrenfreund
.
Objective
[
edit
]
The objective of OREOcube is to investigate the influence of mineralogically relevant inorganic materials on the stability, modification, and degradation of the
organic molecules
during long-duration radiation exposure on the ISS.
[2]
[3]
[4]
Organic compounds
, thought to be the starting material for prebiotic chemistry, could have partly had an extraterrestrial origin. This addition could have been done by bombardment by
comets
and
meteorites
, which contain organic molecules.
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
(see also:
pseudo-panspermia
)
Spacecraft description
[
edit
]
OREOcube is packaged as an identical pair of 10 cm (3.9 in) cubes, each weighing <2 kg and containing an
UV
-
visible
-
NIR
spectrometer
, a 24-sample carousel, and integral optics enabling use of the
Sun
as a light source for spectroscopy, along with the electronics and data storage to make each cube an autonomous stand-alone instrument package requiring only a standard power and data interface.
[2]
Unlike other similar experiments, OREOcube will monitor changes in the UV/vis/NIR spectrum of the samples
in situ
at different times during their exposure to
outer space
.
[3]
OREOScube will provide data sets that capture critical kinetic and mechanistic details of sample reactions that cannot be obtained with current exposure facilities in
low Earth orbit
.
[9]
Samples to be exposed include
amino acids
,
sugars
, small
N-heterocycles
,
nucleobases
,
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
(PAH),
[3]
redox molecules, and organosulfur compounds.
[9]
The project examine
photodissociation
reaction rates, mechanisms, products and degradation of the organic molecules in the astrobiological context.
[3]
The project is currently being developed by the ESA with collaboration with NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) however no official launch date has yet been set.
[1]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
,
NASA Launch Summary
OREOcube ? launch: TBA; launcher: TBA
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
public domain
.
- ^
a
b
ORganics Exposure in Orbit (OREOcube) experiment on the International Space Station: Preliminary studies
Jason Alonzo Department of Physics and Astronomy, California State Polytechnic University
- ^
a
b
c
d
"OREOcube" ORganics Exposure in Orbit
[
dead link
]
Julie Fletcher
Astrobiology at NASA
2 May 2014
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
public domain
.
- ^
Elsaesser, A.; Quinn, R. C.; Ehrenfreund, P.; Mattioda, A. L.; Ricco, A. J.; Alonzo, J.; Breitenbach, A.; Chan, Y. K.; Fresneau, A.; Salama, F.; Santos, O. (2014).
"Organics Exposure in Orbit (OREOcube): A next-generation space exposure platform"
.
Langmuir
.
30
(44): 13217?13227.
Bibcode
:
2014cosp...40E.798E
.
doi
:
10.1021/la501203g
.
PMID
24851720
.
- ^
Cottin, H.; Saiagh, K.; Nguyen, D.; Berger, T. (2014).
"Photochemical studies in low Earth orbit for organic compounds related to small bodies, Titan and Mars. Current and future facilities"
.
Bulletin de la Societe Royale des Sciences de Liege
.
84
: 60?73.
Bibcode
:
2015BSRSL..84...60C
.
- ^
Chow, Denise (26 October 2011).
"Discovery: Cosmic Dust Contains Organic Matter from Stars"
. Space.com.
- ^
"Astronomers Discover Complex Organic Matter Exists Throughout the Universe"
. ScienceDaily. 26 October 2011.
- ^
Kwok, Sun; Zhang, Yong (26 October 2011). "Mixed aromatic?aliphatic organic nanoparticles as carriers of unidentified infrared emission features".
Nature
.
479
(7371): 80?83.
Bibcode
:
2011Natur.479...80K
.
doi
:
10.1038/nature10542
.
PMID
22031328
.
S2CID
4419859
.
- ^
a
b
Project 1F: Organics Exposure in Orbit (OREOcube): A Next-Generation Space Exposure Platform
[
dead link
]
NASA Astrobiology Institute
2013 Annual Science Report University of Wisconsin
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
public domain
.
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