Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2016

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International Session (Oral)

Symbol B (Biogeosciences) » B-AO Astrobiology & the Origin of Life

[B-AO01] Astrobiology: Origins, Evolution, Distribution of Life

Tue. May 24, 2016 1:45 PM - 3:15 PM A01 (APA HOTEL&RESORT TOKYO BAY MAKUHARI)

Convener:*Kensei Kobayashi(Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University), Akihiko Yamagishi(Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Science, Department of Molecular Biology), Masatoshi Ohishi(Astronomy Data Center, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan), Eiichi Tajika(Department of Complexity Science and Engineering, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo), Takeshi Kakegawa(Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University), Shigeru Ida(Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology), Mary Voytek(NASA Headquarter), Joseph Kirschvink(Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA), Chair:Masatoshi Ohishi(Astronomy Data Center, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan), Shigeru Ida(Department of Earth and Planetary Science, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Tokyo Institute of Technology)

2:45 PM - 3:00 PM

[BAO01-05] Current status of Tanpopo: Astrobiology Exposure and Micrometeoroid Capture Experiments at
the Exposure Facility of ISS-JEM

*Akihiko Yamagishi1, Hirofumi Hashimoto2, Hajime Yano2, Shin-ichi Yokobori1, Eiichi Imai3, Makoto Tabata4, Hideyuki Kawai4, Kensei Kobayashi5, Hajime Mita6, Hikaru Yabuta7, Masumi Higashide8 (1.Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Science, Department of Molecular Biology, 2.ISAS/JAXA, 3.Nagaoka Univ. Tech, 4.Chiba Univ., 5.Yokohama Natl. Univ., 6.Fukuoka Inst. Tech., 7.Osaka Univ., 8.JAXA)

Keywords:Space experiment, International space station, Microbes, Organic compounds, Silica aerogel

Tanpopo, a dandelion in Japanese, is a plant species whose seeds with floss are spread by wind. We proposed this mission to examine possible interplanetary migration of microbes, and organic compounds at the Exposure Facility of Japan Experimental Module (JEM: KIBO) of the International Space Station (ISS). The Tanpopo mission consists of six subthemes: Capture of microbes in space (Subtheme 1), exposure of microbes in space (Subtheme 2), analysis of organic compounds in interplanetary dust (Subtheme 3), exposure of organic compounds in space (Subtheme 4), measurement of space debris at the ISS orbit (Subtheme 5), and evaluation of ultra low-density aerogel developed for the Tanpopo mission (Subtheme 6). Exposure Panels for exposure of microbes and organic materials and Capture Panels for aerogel were launched on April 2015. The Panels were placed on the Exposed Experiment Handrail Attachment Mechanism (ExHAM) in the ISS. The ExHAM with Panels were placed on the Exposure Facility of KIBO (JEM) with the Japanese robotic arms through the airlock of KIBO. The trays and panels will be exposed for more than one year and will be retrieved and returned to the ground for the analyses.