Nanopore sequencing, as represented by Oxford Nanopore Technologies’ MinION, is a promising technology for in situ life detection and for microbial monitoring including in support of human space exploration, due to its small size, low mass (~100 g) and low power (~1 W). Now ubiquitous on Earth and previously demonstrated on the International Space Station (ISS), nanopore sequencing involves translocation of DNA through a biological nanopore on timescales of milliseconds per base. Nanopore sequencing is now being done in both controlled lab settings as well as in diverse environments that include ground, air, and space vehicles. Future space missions may also utilize nanopore sequencing in reduced gravity environments, such as in the search for life on Mars (Earth-relative gravito-inertial acceleration (GIA) g = 0.378), or at icy moons such as Europa (g = 0.134) or Enceladus (g = 0.012). We confirm the ability to sequence at Mars as well as near Europa or Lunar (g = 0.166) and lower g levels, demonstrate the functionality of updated chemistry and sequencing protocols under parabolic flight, and reveal consistent performance across g level, during dynamic accelerations, and despite vibrations with significant power at translocation-relevant frequencies. Our work strengthens the use case for nanopore sequencing in dynamic environments on Earth and in space, including as part of the search for nucleic-acid based life beyond Earth.

以牛津纳米孔技术公司的 MinION 为代表的纳米孔测序，由于其体积小、质量低（~100 g）和低功耗，是一种很有前途的原位生命检测和微生物监测技术，包括支持人类太空探索。 ~1 瓦）。现在在地球上无处不在，并且之前在国际空间站 (ISS) 上进行了演示，纳米孔测序涉及 DNA 在每个碱基毫秒的时间尺度上通过生物纳米孔的易位。纳米孔测序现在在受控实验室环境以及包括地面、空中和航天器在内的各种环境中进行。未来的太空任务也可能在减少重力的环境中使用纳米孔测序，例如在火星上寻找生命（地球相对重力惯性加速度 (GIA) g = 0.378)，或在冰冷的卫星上，例如欧罗巴 ( g  = 0.134) 或土卫二 ( g  = 0.012)。我们确认了在火星以及欧罗巴或月球附近（g  = 0.166）和更低g水平进行测序的能力，展示了抛物线飞行下更新的化学和测序协议的功能，并揭示了在动态加速期间跨g水平的一致性能，尽管振动在易位相关频率上具有显着的能量。我们的工作加强了地球和太空动态环境中纳米孔测序的用例，包括作为寻找地球以外核酸生命的一部分。