LOCAD
The Lab-on-a-Chip Applications Development (LOCAD) element is a set of related
Portable Test System
The Lab-On-a-Chip Application Development – Portable Test System (LOCAD-PTS) is a handheld device for
The device itself (or reader) weighs 2.2 pounds and is a combined
LOCAD-PTS was launched to the ISS on December 9, 2006, aboard
The first phase of ISS operations took place between March 2007 to February 2008 (Expeditions 14–16), when LAL cartridges were used to detect endotoxin on surfaces within the ISS.[5][6][7] Endotoxin was found to be distributed throughout the ISS, despite previous indications that most bacteria on ISS surfaces were gram-positive.[8] Endotoxin was detected at 50% of all surface sites and commonly found on surfaces within exercise, hygiene, sleeping and dining areas. Endotoxin was found at every surface site where Colony Forming Units (CFUs) were observed with culture-based contact slide methods. LAL-Glucan cartridges, for the detection of Beta-1,3-glucan, were launched to the ISS aboard Space Shuttle STS-123 in March 2008. Preliminary results with these cartridges showed similar patterns to those observed for endotoxin, but glucan was found at higher levels and found to be far more widespread throughout the ISS.[9] The Gram+ cartridges, for the detection of lipoteichoic acid) were launched to the ISS aboard STS-126 on November 14, 2008. Tests with these cartridges have been performed during Expeditions 18 – 20.
Field tests and scientific expeditions
Before LOCAD-PTS was launched to space, it was tested extensively in simulated
LOCAD-PTS is a technology supported within NASA's Advanced Environmental Monitoring and Control (AEMC) Program, which is in turn, supported by the Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP) of NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD). All technologies within AEMC have been reviewed by the National Research Council and LOCAD-PTS currently has over two years experience operating on orbit.[22]
LOCAD-PTS Exploration
LOCAD-PTS Exploration is an ISS experiment funded by the Moon and Mars Analogue Mission Activities (MMAMA) Program of NASA's Science Mission Directorate.[23] It is a collaboration between BAE Systems, Charles River Laboratories (CRL), NASA Johnson Space Center (Astronaut Office, Crew and Thermal Systems Division, and Extravehicular Activity (EVA) and Crew Survival Systems Branch), NASA Kennedy Space Center and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. The goal of the experiment is to design and test procedures to monitor and document the spread of biological material associated with human spaceflight, both before and after launch, in preparation for the human exploration of the Moon and Mars. The LOCAD-PTS Exploration experiment has been funded by NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD), under the Moon and Mars Analogue Mission Activities (MMAMA) Program, and is the first SMD-funded experiment aboard the ISS.
The ISS Starboard S6 Truss-section was analyzed with LOCAD-PTS in October 2008 and December 2008—while located in the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center—and again in space following launch of Space Shuttle Discovery STS-119.
The S6 Truss was swabbed in space on flight day 5, March 19, 2009, during the
Further LOCAD-PTS Exploration tests were performed on the Flight 17A Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) "Leonardo" in the Payload Changeout Room on Pad 39A during August 5–8, 2009. The 17A MPLM was also tested after insertion into the payload bay of Space Shuttle Discovery STS-128, scheduled for launch on August 25, 2009. In addition to the MPLM itself, a microbial survey of the entire Rotating Service Structure (RSS) and Mobile Launch Platform (MLP) was also performed. The external surfaces of the 17A MPLM will also be tested after landing of STS-128. Each MPLM is a cargo carrier and brought back to Earth in the Space Shuttle Payload Bay.
Gallery
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Enzyme Cascades for all three types of LOCAD-PTS Cartridge.
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LOCAD-PTS Team talks to ISS from NASA mission control (March 31, 2007).
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Greg Chamitoff uses LOCAD-PTS during Expedition 17 (June, 2008).
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Sandy Magnus uses LOCAD-PTS during Expedition 18 (Jan., 2009).
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Norm Wainwright (right) and Jake Maule test LOCAD-PTS during parabolic flight (2007).
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LOCAD-PTS analyzes microbial life in Arctic hot springs during AMASE (2004).
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Jake Maule (left) and Jan Toporski (right) in crater of Mutnovsky Volcano, Kamchatka (2004).
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Mike Damon (foreground) and Jake Maule at NASA Desert-RATS, Arizona (September, 2006).
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Jake Maule performs microbial survey of Pad 39A (August 4, 2009).
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Jake Maule tests 17A MPLM in Shuttle payload bay (August 7, 2009).
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Karissa West performs microbial survey of Pad 39A (August 7, 2009).
References
- ^ LOCAD-PTS International Space Station (ISS) Page. "NASA - Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System (LOCAD-PTS)". Archived from the original on 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ "Charles River Laboratories (CRL) Endosafe-PTS". Archived from the original on 2009-06-14. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ NASA's Advanced Environmental Monitoring and Control (AEMC) Program. "Advanced Environmental Monitoring and Control Program". Archived from the original on 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ "No Foolin' -- 'Lab on a Chip' Works!" Science@NASA article (April 6, 2007).
- ^ J. Maule, N. Wainwright, A. Steele, L. Monaco, H. Morris, D. Gunter, M. Damon and M. Wells (2009). "Rapid Culture-Independent Microbial Analysis aboard the International Space Station (ISS)". Astrobiology, in press.
- ^ J. Maule, N. Wainwright, A. Steele, H. Morris, L. Monaco, M. Damon and M. Effinger (2008). "Lab-on-a-Chip on the ISS: Preparing for Human Exploration of the Moon and Mars". AIAA SPACE 2008 Conference, San Diego, California; 9–11 September 2008. Paper: AIAA-2008-7900.
- ^ J. Maule, N. Wainwright, A. Steele et al. (2008). "Lab-on-a-Chip: From Astrobiology to the Space Station". NASA Astrobiology Conference, Santa Clara, CA. April 2008.
- ^ V.A. Castro, A.N. Thrasher, M. Healy, C.M. Ott and D.L. Pierson (2004). "Microbial characterization during the early habitation of the International Space Station". Microb. Ecol. 2004 Feb; 47(2): 119-26.
- ^ "Astronauts Swab the Deck." Science@NASA article (February 6, 2009)
- ^ J. Maule, N. Wainwright and A. Abercromby (2007). "Function of second and third generation Lab-on-a-Chip cartridges in microgravity: Preparation for operations on the International Space Station (ISS)". NASA report: TM-2007-214765 "C-9 and other microgravity simulations", September 2007.
- ^ J. Maule, M. Fogel, A. Steele, N. Wainwright, D. Pierson and D. McKay (2004). "Antigen-Antibody Interactions in Altered Gravity: Implications for Immunosorbent Assay during Space Flight". J. Gravitational Physiology, Volume 10, Issue 2, 2004.
- ^ a b J. Maule, M. Fries, A. Steele, H. E. F. Amundsen, N. Wainwright, M. Damon and the AMASE, Desert-RATS and LOCAD Teams (2007). "Rapid On-Site Science Operations and Human-Robot Interactions at Lunar and Mars Analog Sites". 38th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, March 2007.
- ^ D. Eppler, J. Maule, A. Steele, O. Botta and G. Huntress (2008). "Svalbard: Training astronauts in geology and surface exploration activities in a Mars-relevant environment". NASA Astrobiology Conference, Santa Clara, CA. April 2008.
- ^ a b LOCAD-PTS Tests on Desert-RATS and Arctic Mars Svalbard Analogue Expeditions (AMASE) during 2006. Planetary Society. "Reports from AMASE 2006 - Explore the Cosmos | the Planetary Society". Archived from the original on 2009-04-07. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ J. Eigenbrode, L. Benning, J. Maule, A. Steele and H.A. Amundsen (2009). "A field-based cleaning protocol for sampling devices used in life-detection studies". Astrobiology, in press (2009)
- ^ J. Maule, J. Toporski and A. Steele (2006). "How lively are volcanic hot spring environments? In situ field analysis in Kamchatka, Russia". Astrobiology, Vol. 6, No. 1, p. 209, February 2006.
- ^ J. Maule, D. Gilichinsky, A. Shaw, P. Morrill, S. Leuko, R. Anitori, Z. Tsygankova and E. Gostev (2006). "Permafrost Astrobiology". Frozen Ground – The News Bulletin of the International Permafrost Association, No. 30, p. 20, December 2006.
- ^ J. Maule, A. Steele, D. Burbank, D. Eppler, J. Kosmo, A. Ross, N. Wainwright, A. Child, G. Flores, L. Monaco, D. Graziosi and K. Splawn (2006). "Monitoring forward contamination during simulated surface extra-vehicular activity (EVA) at Meteor Crater, Arizona: Implications for human exploration of the moon and Mars". Astrobiology, Vol. 6, No. 1, p. 275, February 2006.
- ^ J. Maule, D. Pierson, N. Wainwright, M. Ott, V. Castro (2003). "Bacterial Detection: Correlation of an Automated Real-time System Operated in situ with Comprehensive Characterization in the Laboratory (NEEMO-SWAB)". NASA Johnson Space Center Life Sciences Data Archive, June 2003.
- ^ NASA Johnson Space Center Life Sciences Data Archive (LSDA). "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-04-12. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ NASA Heads up Mt. Everest
- ISBN 978-0-309-11943-6.
- ^ LOCAD-PTS Exploration International Space Station (ISS) Page. "NASA - Lab-on-a-Chip Application Development-Portable Test System - Exploration (LOCAD-PTS-Exploration)". Archived from the original on 2009-04-07. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
- ^ "ISS Spacewalkers Test Planetary Protection Concept." Science@NASA article (March 20, 2009).
- ^ The 2006 NASA Strategic Plan. NASA Document NP-2006-02-423-HQ.
External links
- "Planetary Contamination Monitoring." NASA International Space Station Page (December 18, 2009).
- LOCAD-PTS International Space Station (ISS) Page.
- LOCAD-PTS Exploration International Space Station (ISS) Page. Archived 2009-04-07 at the Wayback Machine
- "No Foolin' -- 'Lab on a Chip' Works!" Science@NASA (April 6, 2007).
- "ISS Spacewalkers Test Planetary Protection Concept." Science@NASA (March 20, 2009).
- "Astronauts Swab the Deck." Science@NASA (February 6, 2009).
- LOCAD-PTS Blogs from 2006 Desert-RATS and Arctic Mars Svalbard Analogue Expeditions (AMASE).
- LOCAD Home Page.
- NASA's Advanced Environmental Monitoring and Control (AEMC) Program.