BioTec consisted of five scientific and non-scientific work packages, which are discussed in more detail in the following.
Sampling strategies and measurement techniques. Introduction in sample handling and preparation, in biomolecule extraction procedures, and in the operation of state-of-art laboratory techniques such as Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) and as Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS), allowed successful chemical analysis of the biomolecule content of various materials from different Mars-like environments (e.g. permafrost samples collected at Yedoma region, Russia, or samples collected at Atacama Desert, Chile). The studies showed that no single field site can mimic the Mars environment accurately. Rather, a composite of different field sites that mimic different environments in Martian history can give more conclusive evidence. A field trip to the Atacama Desert could be organised and allowed to acquire expertise in field research at an extreme environment. Together with a research group from NASA, Mars-like analogues were collected for subsequent laboratory analysis. With this knowledge, future field trips can be organised independently, which is of high value to my personal scientific career.
Measurement Methodologies using LIMS. Measurements conducted on individual amino acids dropcasted on various sample substrates (e.g. parylene-C and gold-coated steel) using three different LIMS systems that were equipped with different laser systems (ns- to fs laser systems) and operated at different wavelengths (UV to IR) allowed to elaborate successfully a measurement protocol for the detection of amino acids. In comparison to the LIMS systems coupled to a fs systems, the LIMS system comprising a miniature mass analyser coupled to a ns UV laser system and amino acids dropcasted on a simple stainless-steel holder showed superior performance in amino acid detection. Through the measurements conducted on 20 individual amino acids, simple amino acid-unique fragments could be identified. These unique fragments allow accurate identification and quantification down to concentrations at the level of femtomol mm-2. In contrast, measurements conducted with LIMS systems that are coupled to fs laser system showed severe biomolecule fragmentation which limits the amino acid identification significantly. The successfully elaborated measurement protocol was recently submitted to the peer-reviewed journal Nature Scientific Reports and, during witting of this report, the manuscript was accepted.
Dissemination and Exploitation. The dissemination and exploitation strategy consisted of i) publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals, ii) contributions at conferences, and iii) knowledge transfer to academic and industrial actors. Through BioTec, I (co-)authored six peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals, and had three invited talks and nine contributions at conferences. The knowledge transfer to the space group at the University in Bern, Switzerland and to the LIS Laboratories at ESA, ESTEC (Robert Lindner) was realised successfully through periodic meetings. The knowledge transfer to the company IONIGHT could not be realised as the company terminated their business mid-2017.
Public Engagement. As planned in the fellowship, public engagement activities consisted of laboratory visits for students at the secondary level as well as radio interviews (Radio Freiburg, Switzerland). Both were successfully realised. The radio interviews were especially successful. Originally, two live radio interviews were planned. However, the first radio streaming resulted in such a positive feedback from the public (~57’000 active listeners per day), the program organisers decided to design and stream a complete program around space science (program name “RadioFr Universum”). In total, nine 1-hour live streams were produced and streamed.
Training. During this fellowship, I successfully acquired expertise in the application of e.g. LC- and GC-MS instrumentation and its data analysis, was introduced in complex protocols for the extraction of biomolecules from geological material, and attended three workshops to improve my current soft skills. The learned soft-skill strategies could be successfully applied e.g. at conferences or discussion with supervised students.
In summary, the work packages were successfully concluded and mitigation strategies could be successfully applied when required.
