BIOPAN is a multi-user research program by the

European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is a 23-member International organization, international organization devoted to space exploration. With its headquarters in Paris and a staff of around 2,547 people globally as of 2023, ESA was founded in 1975 ...

(ESA) designed to investigate the effect of the space environment on biological material. The experiments in BIOPAN are exposed to solar and

cosmic radiation Cosmic rays or astroparticles are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Sol ...

, the space vacuum and weightlessness, or a selection thereof. Optionally, the experiment temperature can be stabilized. BIOPAN hosts

astrobiology Astrobiology (also xenology or exobiology) is a scientific field within the List of life sciences, life and environmental sciences that studies the abiogenesis, origins, Protocell, early evolution, distribution, and future of life in the univ ...

radiobiology Radiobiology (also known as radiation biology, and uncommonly as actinobiology) is a field of clinical and basic medical sciences that involves the study of the effects of radiation on living tissue (including ionizing radiation, ionizing and non- ...

and materials science experiments. The BIOPAN facility is installed on the external surface of Russian Foton descent capsules protruding from the thermal blanket that envelops the satellite.

Design and features

The BIOPAN program started in the early nineties with an ESA contract for the a joint development by Kayser-Threde and Kayser Italia. It was based on the heritage of a low-tech Russian exposure container called KNA (''Kontejner Nauchnoj Apparatury''). The BIOPAN facilities are installed on the external surface of Foton descent capsules. It has a motor-driven hinged lid, which opens 180° in Earth orbit to expose the experiment samples to the harsh space environment. For

re-entry Atmospheric entry (sometimes listed as Vimpact or Ventry) is the movement of an object from outer space into and through the gases of an atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet, or natural satellite. Atmospheric entry may be ''uncontrolled entry ...

, the closed facility is protected with an Ablative heat shield. The BIOPAN facilities are equipped with thermometers, UV sensors, a

radiometer A radiometer or roentgenometer is a device for measuring the radiant flux (power) of electromagnetic radiation. Generally, a radiometer is an infrared radiation detector or an ultraviolet detector. Microwave radiometers operate in the micro ...

, a pressure sensor and an active radiation

dosimeter A radiation dosimeter is a device that measures the equivalent dose, dose uptake of external ionizing radiation. It is worn by the person being monitored when used as a personal dosimeter, and is a record of the radiation dose received. Modern el ...

. Data acquired by the sensors is stored by BIOPAN throughout each mission and can be accessed after flight. The possibility of overheating during atmospheric re-entry was acknowledged early during the development, therefore, a quite massive heat shield was designed for it. While the total weight of BIOPAN is close to 27 kg, including the experiments, the heat shield is responsible for 12 kg of that figure. The BIOPAN electronics consists of the following units: signal acquisition board, microcontroller board with its flight software, memory board and EGSE.

Missions

The missions flown so far are:Surviving the Final Frontier
25 November 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:BIOPAN Astrobiology space missions Cosmic rays Extremophiles Microbial growth and nutrition Molecular biology Space exposure experiments Space-flown life Space hardware returned to Earth intact

Design and features

Missions

See also

References