Capture and space exposure experiments of microorganisms on the ISS orbit proposed in "TANPOPO" mission

Yokobori, Shinichi*; Yang, Y.*; Kawaguchi, Yuko*; Sugino, Tomohiro*; Takahashi, Yuta*; Narumi, Issei; Nakagawa, Kazumichi*; Tabata, Makoto*; Kobayashi, Kensei*; Marumo, Katsumi*; Hasegawa, Sunao*; Yoshida, Satoshi*; Imai, Eiichi*; Hashimoto, Hirofumi*; Okudaira, Kyoko*; Kawai, Hideyuki*; Yano, Hajime*; Yamashita, Masamichi*; Yamagishi, Akihiko*

We propose a mission to examine possible interplanetary migration of microbes, organic compounds and meteoroids on Japan Experimental Module (JEM) of the International Space Station (ISS) - Tanpopo mission. Ultra low-density aerogel (ca. 0.01 g/cm) will be used to capture micrometeoroid and space debris. Particles captured by aerogel will be analyzed after the initial inspection of the gel and tracks. The particles will be characterized in terms of mineralogical, organic and microbiological properties. In addition to particle-capture experiment on ISS, we also proposed to perform direct exposure experiments of microorganisms and organic compounds. Several deinococcal species (and strains) including our high-altitude isolates, and some other microbes are candidates for exposure.