Microbial biology on CubeSats

In the past 15 years, small satellites, in particular CubeSats, have emerged as viable, low-cost alternatives to perform biological experiments in space. Previous missions to low Earth orbit (LEO) have investigated the effects of both reduced gravity and space radiation on model organisms, including the response to antimicrobials in both bacteria and yeast and the adaptation to the space environment in fern spores and bacteria. Current planned missions are targeting the DNA damage response in interplanetary space as well as the response to the lunar environment. These beyond-LEO missions are possible due to the improvement of previous technologies and their adaptability to different platforms like the International Space Station, free-flying small spacecraft, and lunar vehicles. Future space biology and astrobiology missions will aim to fill current strategic knowledge gaps with the ultimate goal of informing future crewed missions to deep interplanetary space.