Abstract
The search for microorganisms in cosmic bodies of the Solar System is of great importance for understanding the problem of the origin of life. At present, it is difficult to create specialized laboratories searching for living microorganisms on the surface of planets or cosmic bodies that either formed in the Solar System or were captured by the Solar gravity from interstellar space. Existing experiments on search for life on landers and planet research vehicles allow this research to be conducted on the surface of planets and their satellites, but on a limited area near the landing site. This paper considers a method of remote sensing of outer space by light flashes of cosmic objects to detect bioactivity on almost all of their surfaces. The presence of bioactivity is the detected by specific luminescence of microorganisms when they are illuminated by probing radiation that causes their fluorescence.
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The authors are grateful to their colleagues for assistance, discussions, and comments that were helpful in improving this paper.
Funding
This work was carried out in the framework of the technical specifications of the Lavochkin Research and Production Association project “Development of a Component of a Technical Proposal for a System of Scientific Equipment for Investigating the Martian Satellites and Delivering Samples of Phobos Matter to Earth.”
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Translated by V. Arutyunyan
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Garipov, G.K., Panasyuk, M.I., Svertilov, S.I. et al. The Search for Extraterrestrial Microorganisms on Cosmic Objects from Space. Cosmic Res 58, 242–248 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S001095252004005X
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S001095252004005X