Experiments on the Survivability of Extremophiles

The ability of terrestrial microorganisms to survive extreme conditions is an important consideration for developing and determining mission criteria, especially for future sample return missions. Of the numerous extreme conditions in space, the effect of impact is an important one for planetary protection. Impacts are complex phenomena with conditions that vary widely but typically involve high stresses sustained for short times. We aim to adapt the pressure-shear plate impact experiment to investigate how impact stresses affect the survival of microorganisms (in particular, extremophiles). Experiments are underway on Deinococcus radiodurans to validate the experimental design and establish testing protocols for such extremophiles.