BioSentinel Mission

About BioSentinel Mission

• BioSentinel Mission is the first biological spacecraft and long-duration biology experiment sent beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) in 50 years.
• It is a six-unit (6U) CubeSat developed by NASA Ames Research Center.
• It was launched on November 16, 2022.
• Objective: The primary objective is to develop a biosensor instrument to detect and measure the impact of space radiation on living organisms over long durations beyond low Earth orbit.
• Aim: It aims to:
  • develop an instrument capable of supporting biological organisms 
  • characterize the deep space radiation environment in preparation for future human exploration.
• It was selected as one of the secondary payloads and the sole biological experiment, to have the rare opportunity to catch a ride to deep space on Artemis I, the first integrated flight test of NASA’s Space Launch System.
• Components:
  • It is consists of two main sections –
    • Scientific Payload Section: It contains instruments to study microbial growth and space radiation.
    • Spacecraft Bus: It includes solar panels, batteries, a micropropulsion system, a star tracker for navigation, a transponder, antennas, and systems for command and data handling. These components provide power, navigation, communication and spacecraft control.
  • It carries two scientific instruments:
    • BioSensor: It uses microfluidic technology to support and measure microbial growth and metabolic activity. It has temperature control and optical measurement systems.
      • The spacecraft carried onboard budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as an analog to human cells to test the biological response to deep space radiation.
    • Radiation Detector: It measures the dose of ionizing radiation in space and studies the energy deposited by radiation particles, based on their Linear Energy Transfer (LET).