Airborne microorganisms in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere remain elusive due to a lack of reliable sample collection systems. To address this problem we designed installed and flight-validated a novel Aircraft Bioaerosol Collector (ABC) for NASA s C-20A that can make collections for microbiological research investigations up to altitudes of 13.7 km. Herein we report results from the first set of science flights xe2 x80 x94four consecutive missions flown over the United States (US) from 30 October to 2 November 2017. To ascertain how the concentration of airborne bacteria changed across the tropopause we collected air during aircraft Ascent/Descent (0.3 to 11 km) as well as sustained Cruise altitudes in the lower stratosphere (~12 km). Bioaerosols were captured on DNA-treated gelatinous filters inside a cascade air sampler then analyzed with molecular and culture-based characterization. Several viable bacterial isolates were recovered from flight altitudes including Bacillus sp. Micrococcus sp. Arthrobacter sp. and Staphylococcus sp. from Cruise samples and Brachybacterium sp. from Ascent/Descent samples. Using 16S V4 sequencing methods for a culture-independent analysis of bacteria the average number of total OTUs was 305 for Cruise samples and 276 for Ascent/Descent samples. Some taxa were more abundant in the flight samples than the ground samples including OTUs from families Lachnospiraceae Ruminococcaceae and Erysipelotrichaceae as well as the following genera: Clostridium Mogibacterium Corynebacterium Bacteroides Prevotella Pseudomonas and Parabacteroides. Surprisingly our results revealed a homogeneous distribution of bacteria in the atmosphere up to 12 km. The observation could be due to atmospheric conditions producing similar background aerosols across the western US as suggested by modeled back trajectories and satellite measurements. However the influence of aircraft-associated bacterial contaminants could not be fully eliminated and that background signal was reported throughout our dataset. Considering the tremendous engineering challenge of collecting biomass at extreme altitudes where contamination from flight hardware remains an ever-present issue we note the utility of using the stratosphere as a proving ground for planned life detection missions across the solar system.

Airborne microorganisms in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere remain elusive due to a lack of reliable sample collection systems. To address this problem, we designed, installed, and flight-validated a novel Aircraft Bioaerosol Collector (ABC) for NASA's C-20A that can make collections for microbiological research investigations up to altitudes of 13.7 km. Herein we report results from the first set of science flights—four consecutive missions flown over the United States (US) from 30 October to 2 November, 2017. To ascertain how the concentration of airborne bacteria changed across the tropopause, we collected air during aircraft Ascent/Descent (0.3 to 11 km), as well as sustained Cruise altitudes in the lower stratosphere (~12 km). Bioaerosols were captured on DNA-treated gelatinous filters inside a cascade air sampler, then analyzed with molecular and culture-based characterization. Several viable bacterial isolates were recovered from flight altitudes, including Bacillus sp., Micrococcus sp., Arthrobacter sp., and Staphylococcus sp. from Cruise samples and Brachybacterium sp. from Ascent/Descent samples. Using 16S V4 sequencing methods for a culture-independent analysis of bacteria, the average number of total OTUs was 305 for Cruise samples and 276 for Ascent/Descent samples. Some taxa were more abundant in the flight samples than the ground samples, including OTUs from families Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae and Erysipelotrichaceae as well as the following genera: Clostridium, Mogibacterium, Corynebacterium, Bacteroides, Prevotella, Pseudomonas, and Parabacteroides. Surprisingly, our results revealed a homogeneous distribution of bacteria in the atmosphere up to 12 km. The observation could be due to atmospheric conditions producing similar background aerosols across the western US, as suggested by modeled back trajectories and satellite measurements. However, the influence of aircraft-associated bacterial contaminants could not be fully eliminated and that background signal was reported throughout our dataset. Considering the tremendous engineering challenge of collecting biomass at extreme altitudes where contamination from flight hardware remains an ever-present issue, we note the utility of using the stratosphere as a proving ground for planned life detection missions across the solar system.

The AirMISR BARC 2001 data were acquired during a flight over the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) on July 21, 2001. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California provided the data. The Airborne Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (AirMISR) is an airborne instrument for obtaining multi-angle imagery similar to that of the satellite-borne Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument, which is designed to contribute to studies of the Earth's ecology and climate. AirMISR flies on the NASA ER-2 aircraft. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California built the instrument for NASA. Unlike the satellite-borne MISR instrument, which has nine cameras oriented at various angles, AirMISR uses a single camera in a pivoting gimbal mount. A data run by the ER-2 aircraft is divided into nine segments, each with the camera positioned to a MISR look angle. The gimbal rotates between successive segments, such that each segment acquires data over the same area on the ground as the previous segment. This process is repeated until all nine angles of the target area are collected. The swath width, which varies from 11 km in the nadir to 32 km at the most oblique angle, is governed by the camera's instantaneous field-of-view of 7 meters cross-track x 6 meters along-track in the nadir view and 21 meters x 55 meters at the most oblique angle. The along-track image length at each angle is dictated by the timing required to obtain overlap imagery at all angles, and varies from about 9 km in the nadir to 26 km at the most oblique angle. Thus, the nadir image dictates the area of overlap that is obtained from all nine angles. A complete flight run takes approximately 13 minutes. The 9 camera viewing angles are: 0 degrees or nadir 26.1 degrees, fore and aft 45.6 degrees, fore and aft 60.0 degrees, fore and aft 70.5 degrees, fore and aft. For each of the camera angles, images are obtained at 4 spectral bands. The spectral bands can be used to identify vegetation and aerosols, estimate surface reflectance and ocean color studies. The center wavelengths of the 4 spectral bands are: 443 nanometers, blue 555 nanometers, green 670 nanometers, red 865 nanometers, near-infrared Two types of AirMISR data products are available - the Level 1 Radiometric product (L1B1) and the Level 1 Georectified radiance product (L1B2).

The AirMISR BARC 2001 data were acquired during a flight over the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) on July 21, 2001. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California provided the data. The Airborne Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (AirMISR) is an airborne instrument for obtaining multi-angle imagery similar to that of the satellite-borne Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument, which is designed to contribute to studies of the Earth's ecology and climate. AirMISR flies on the NASA ER-2 aircraft. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California built the instrument for NASA. Unlike the satellite-borne MISR instrument, which has nine cameras oriented at various angles, AirMISR uses a single camera in a pivoting gimbal mount. A data run by the ER-2 aircraft is divided into nine segments, each with the camera positioned to a MISR look angle. The gimbal rotates between successive segments, such that each segment acquires data over the same area on the ground as the previous segment. This process is repeated until all nine angles of the target area are collected. The swath width, which varies from 11 km in the nadir to 32 km at the most oblique angle, is governed by the camera's instantaneous field-of-view of 7 meters cross-track x 6 meters along-track in the nadir view and 21 meters x 55 meters at the most oblique angle. The along-track image length at each angle is dictated by the timing required to obtain overlap imagery at all angles, and varies from about 9 km in the nadir to 26 km at the most oblique angle. Thus, the nadir image dictates the area of overlap that is obtained from all nine angles. A complete flight run takes approximately 13 minutes. The 9 camera viewing angles are: 0 degrees or nadir 26.1 degrees, fore and aft 45.6 degrees, fore and aft 60.0 degrees, fore and aft 70.5 degrees, fore and aft. For each of the camera angles, images are obtained at 4 spectral bands. The spectral bands can be used to identify vegetation and aerosols, estimate surface reflectance and ocean color studies. The center wavelengths of the 4 spectral bands are: 443 nanometers, blue 555 nanometers, green 670 nanometers, red 865 nanometers, near-infrared Two types of AirMISR data products are available - the Level 1 Radiometric product (L1B1) and the Level 1 Georectified radiance product (L1B2).

The BRIC-21 mission was designed to identify the response of Bacillus subtilis to the human spaceflight environment. For this mission samples were grown in rich-medium using the Biological Research in Canister Petri Dish Fixation Units (BRIC-PDFU) spaceflight hardware. B. subtilis spores were inoculated during spaceflight grown at the ambient ISS temperature and frozen in the onboard -80 C freezer prior to returning to Earth. RNA was extracted from samples grown onboard the International Space Station (ISS) and matching Ground Controls for transcriptome analysis.

The safety of the International Space Station (ISS) crewmembers and maintenance of ISS hardware are the primary rationale for monitoring microorganisms in this closed habitat. The composition of the microbial community of this built environment is unique due to microgravity space radiation and elevated carbon dioxide levels. As built environments are known to have their own microbiomes next-generation sequencing methods have to be utilized to explore the ISS microbial profile and use this data for further development of safety and maintenance practices. ISS vacuum cleaner bag components (surface) and high-efficiency particulate arrestance (HEPA) filter element (air) samples were analyzed by traditional cultivation adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and propidium monoazide-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PMA-qPCR) assays to estimate viable microbial populations. In addition vacuum cleaner bag components of two cleanrooms at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL Pasadena CA) were examined concurrently. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing based on Illumina platform was used to elucidate the ISS microbial diversity and explore differences between the microbiomes of the ISS and Earth-based cleanrooms. The statistical analyses of these microbiomes show that Actinobacteria Firmicutes and Proteobacteria dominate in the air and surface of the ISS and the cleanroom samples but vary in abundance. While members of Actinobacteria were predominant in the ISS Proteobacteria the least abundant phylum in the ISS dominated the Earth-based cleanrooms. The viable bacterial population (PMA-treated samples) decreased significantly but the treatment did not appear to have an effect on the bacterial composition (diversity) associated with a sampling site. Viable fungal sequences were not retrieved from the ISS HEPA sample where as highest viable fungal diversity was observed in the Earth-based cleanroom (JPL class 100K) debris. The results of this study provided strong evidence of substantial contribution of human skin-associated microorganisms such as Corynebacterium/Propionibacterium (Actinobacteria),not Staphylococcus (Firmicutes) species as the dominant species in the ISS in terms of viable and total bacterial community structure.

The safety of the International Space Station (ISS) crewmembers and maintenance of ISS hardware are the primary rationale for monitoring microorganisms in this closed habitat. The composition of the microbial community of this built environment is unique due to microgravity space radiation and elevated carbon dioxide levels. As built environments are known to have their own microbiomes next-generation sequencing methods have to be utilized to explore the ISS microbial profile and use this data for further development of safety and maintenance practices. ISS vacuum cleaner bag components (surface) and high-efficiency particulate arrestance (HEPA) filter element (air) samples were analyzed by traditional cultivation adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and propidium monoazide-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PMA-qPCR) assays to estimate viable microbial populations. In addition vacuum cleaner bag components of two cleanrooms at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL Pasadena CA) were examined concurrently. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing based on Illumina platform was used to elucidate the ISS microbial diversity and explore differences between the microbiomes of the ISS and Earth-based cleanrooms. The statistical analyses of these microbiomes show that Actinobacteria Firmicutes and Proteobacteria dominate in the air and surface of the ISS and the cleanroom samples but vary in abundance. While members of Actinobacteria were predominant in the ISS Proteobacteria the least abundant phylum in the ISS dominated the Earth-based cleanrooms. The viable bacterial population (PMA-treated samples) decreased significantly but the treatment did not appear to have an effect on the bacterial composition (diversity) associated with a sampling site. Viable fungal sequences were not retrieved from the ISS HEPA sample where as highest viable fungal diversity was observed in the Earth-based cleanroom (JPL class 100K) debris. The results of this study provided strong evidence of substantial contribution of human skin-associated microorganisms such as Corynebacterium/Propionibacterium (Actinobacteria),not Staphylococcus (Firmicutes) species as the dominant species in the ISS in terms of viable and total bacterial community structure.

Mice were flown onboard STS-135 and returned to Earth for analysis. Cerebellums were collected within 3-4 hours of landing and snap frozen in liquid nitrogen. Samples were shipped to UCI Genomics High Throughput Facility for analysis.

https://c3.nasa.gov/genelab/accession/GLDS-20/ This study presents the first global transcriptional profiling and phenotypic characterization of the major human opportunistic fungal pathogen, Candida albicans, grown in spaceflight conditions. Microarray analysis revealed that C. albicans subjected to short-term spaceflight culture differentially regulated 454 genes compared to synchronous ground controls, which represented 8.4% of the analyzed ORFs. Spaceflight-cultured C. albicans induced genes involved in cell aggregation (similar to flocculation), which was validated by microscopic and flow cytometry analysis. We also observed enhanced random budding of spaceflight-cultured cells as opposed to more normal bipolar budding patterns for ground samples, in accordance with the gene expression data. Furthermore, genes involved in antifungal agent and stress resistance were differentially regulated in spaceflight, including induction of ABC transporters and members of the major facilitator family, downregulation of ergosterol-encoding genes, and upregulation of genes involved in oxidative stress resistance. Finally, downregulation of genes involved in the actin cytoskeleton was observed. Interestingly, the transcriptional regulator Cap1 and over 30% of the Cap1 regulon was differentially expressed in spaceflight-cultured C. albicans. A potential role for Cap1 in the spaceflight response of C. albicans is suggested, as this regulator is involved in random budding, cell aggregation, actin cytoskeleton, and oxidative stress resistance; all related to observed spaceflight-associated changes of C. albicans. While culture of C. albicans in microgravity potentiates a global change in gene expression that could induce a virulence-related phenotype, no increased virulence in a murine intraperitoneal (i.p.) infection model was observed. This study represents an important basis for the assessment of the risk that commensal flora could play during spaceflight missions. Furthermore, since the low fluid-shear environment of microgravity is relevant to physical forces encountered by pathogens during the infection process, insights gained from this study could identify novel infectious disease mechanisms, with downstream benefits for the general public. Cells were grown for 24 hours on the space shuttle or as ground-based controls, preserved in RNALater, and stored at -80C. Four samples of each flight- and ground-based controls were harvested for microarray analysis. GAP is Group Activation Pack and each GAP contains 8 FPAs. The numbers represent the # assigned to the particular GAP and the number assigned to the specific FPA (1-8) within the indicated GAP. The same hardware is used for the flight samples and the ground samples.

Contains measurements from the airborne auto tracking sun photometers on board the NASA Ames C-130 aircraft, operated by RSS12 (Wrigley).