BioX2
Biological Exploration Payload 2
Faculty Advisor/PI: Dr. Christopher E. Carr
Start Date: January 2021
Current Status: Functional and EMI testing, science validation testing & pre-launch preparations.
Launch Provider: Nanoracks LLC
Collaborators: MIT Media Lab Space Exploration Initiative
BioX2 (Biological Exploration Payload 2) is targeted for launch to the International Space Station (ISS) in October 2022 to be a technological demonstration for biological sample automation, nucleic acid extraction, and nanopore sequencing in space. A stretch goal is to perform end-to-end operations on orbit and measure Darwinian evolution of Bacillus subtilis, which will help advance future space life detection missions.
Funding: Supported by MIT Space Exploration Initiative via NASA Award 80NSSC21M0012 to Maria T. Zuber and faculty startup funds from the Georgia Institute of Technology to C.E.C.