Astrobiology Science and Technology for Exploring Planets (ASTEP)

Seminar Detail

Cyanobacteria in a Lunar Environment

Presenter: Andrew Pohorille

May 20, 2008 02:30 PM Pacific

Can life be transported beyond its planet of origin, and adapted to survive and thrive on the Moon? Can microorganisms be useful for life support and in situ resource utilization in a sustained space exploration? These fundamental questions were recently discussed at a workshop that brought together microbiologists, planetary scientists and experts in flight experiments and hardware. The focus was on cyanobacteria as model organisms because of their antiquity on earth, metabolic diversity, resilience to adverse conditions, ability to efficiently produce oxygen and hydrogen, and the existence of advanced capabilities for their genetic manipulation. I will discuss the main findings of the workshop regarding the challenges of and a research program for establishing cyanobacteria in a lunar environment. Such a program will help to connect astrobiology with NASA's missions to the Moon.

Participation Instructions

With a Polycom....RSVP to Marco Boldt (Marco.Boldt@nasa.gov) and connect to WebEx as instructed below. If you need Polycom help during the live event, message Marco Boldt in WebEx.

The slides from the seminar can be accessed real-time using WebEx at:

https://nasa.webex.com

Enter the meeting number: 928 670 191 Hit the "join now" button.

Enter your name or site name (this is not an assigned log-in name, please use your institution name or your first and last name), email and the password: pohorille123* (case sensitive)

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Without a Polycom...There are two ways to participate:

1) You can listen to the seminar on the telephone while viewing the slides in WebEx (see WebEx instructions above). The NASA conference phone number will be displayed when joining the WebEx meeting.

2) You can watch the Realplayer webcast at: http://vanseg-1.arc.nasa.gov/2008/AB080520-01.ram and view the slides in WebEx (see WebEx instructions above) There is a 30 second delay for the webcast, so you will need to control the slides manually using the arrow buttons in WebEx. Questions for the speaker can be posted in the WebEx chat area to be answered at the end of the talk. Do not try to watch the Realplayer webcast at the same time as the Polycom or the phone.