Engineering Biology Problems Book (2021, Obninsk Edition)

4. Living starship
Technological solutions for long-term space exploration using biological instruments. Representing
the most daring embodiment of the ideas of Russian cosmists, the biological mechanisms of
conquering the vast expanses of the Universe constitute the very bridge between reality and fantasy.
4.1. Living starship. Science fiction films often show unsolvable problems that arise during the
failure of individual life support modules. One of these problems was the failure of the system during
the Apollo 13 mission when the astronauts had to repair the support systems for several days with the
help of available materials on board, and for a long time to stay at a temperature of 6-11 ° C. The use
of living systems would theoretically make it possible to transform a “living” oxygen supply system
into liquid fuel, or vice versa. Estimate the efficiency of such transformations "fuel <-> food",
"oxygen supply system <-> fuel".
SOLUTION:
The solution to the problem is under development.
4.2.Life detector. Imagine that NASA has asked you to develop a module that will identify signs of
life on Mars. What will your module look like?
© John Wilson, Tim Hunt. Molecular Biology of the Cell 6E - The Problems Book, 2015.
SOLUTION:
Such functional modules today, as a rule, are designed to search for organic molecules characteristic
of various life forms. The first Mars probe analyzed soil samples for organic matter but did not find a
single compound. Subsequently, the probes discovered a highly acidic surface layer, which would
inevitably destroy the organic matter that got there. Reliable signs of possible Martian life would be
the presence of water in ancient times and the flowing traces of methane in the atmosphere. The
question of the existence of life on Mars remains open, as well as the rational design of the module for
detecting it.
4.3. Walk on the Sun. Interstellar flight can be dangerous not only for the crew but also for the
"living" spacecraft due to damage to biomolecules by radioactive parts, in particular, by hard gamma
radiation. Now electrical repair mechanisms, amber mutations, etc. are used to correct breakdowns.
Suggest new mechanisms for DNA repair, for example, fundamentally new enzymes.
SOLUTION:
Use ideas from work “Vive la radiorésistance!” [83].
[83. Cortese, F., Klokov, D., Osipov, A., Stefaniak, J., Moskalev, A., Schastnaya, J., ... & Sapetsky, A.
(2018). Vive la radiorésistance!: converging research in radiobiology and biogerontology to enhance
human radioresistance for deep space exploration and colonization. Oncotarget, 9(18), 14692.
https://doi.org/10.18632/oncotarget.24461]
4.4. Interstellar planet. In the 2000s, billions of wandering planets in interstellar space were
discovered in our galaxy, usually orbiting the galactic core. Such planets can, due to several
gravitational maneuvers, leave the galaxy and fly to another in several tens of millions of years. In
1999, Professor Stevenson published a paper on the possibility of life in interstellar space, in which he
described the possible mechanisms for maintaining a comfortable temperature on the planet's surface
due to a dense shell of light gases (while the pressure on the surface can be up to 1000 atm) [84].
Assuming the heat flux equal to that of the Earth, estimate the parameters of the planet's surface by
the type of the Earth for such a flight through interstellar space.
SOLUTION:
The solution to the problem is under development.