Development of Experimental Approach for Hypervelocity Impact Sterilization

Abstract

The Martian Moon Exploration (MMX) mission plans to explore Martian moons and return samples from Phobos to Earth. The assessment of potential microbial contamination of Martian moons is important for the mission from the view of planetary protection, and hypervelocity impact sterilization and radiation sterilization are important processes to determine the microorganism probability on Martian moons. In this study, we develop experimental approach for hypervelocity impact sterilization and discuss the development for technical issues on hypervelocity impact sterilization tests. Finally, we demonstrate hypervelocity impact sterilization tests using Bacillus atrophaeus spores.