# An Overview of CubeSat Missions and Applications
## 6 CubeSats as Platforms for Chemical and Biological Experimentation in Space
In November 2010, the Organism/Organic Exposure to Orbital Stresses (O/OREOS) mission was launched and set in an orbit of 650 km [233]. The O/OREOS CubeSat can beseen in Figure 15b and it was developed under NASA's Astrobiology Program by NASA Ames Research Center with contributions from Santa Clara University, the University of Florida, and other institutions. This mission incorporated two main payloads, namely the Space Environment Survivability of Living Organisms (SESLO) experiment and the Space Environment Viability of Organics (SEVO) experiment. The SESLO experiment focused on studying the survival, growth, and metabolic activity of Bacillus subtilis spores and Halorubrum chaoviatoris cells. Utilizing microfluidics systems and colorimetric analysis, it measured the microbial activity three times over a six-month period. On the other hand, SEVO utilized UV-VIS spectroscopy to investigate the photostability and degradation of amino acids and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, providing real-time data regarding the behavior of these compounds through the interaction with solar radiation and cosmic rays. Both experiments met their expectations, with SESLO demonstrating the resilience of these microorganisms in space and SEVO providing unique data regarding degradation patterns of these organic compounds. Built upon the concepts and hardware of the previous PharmaSat mission, the _E. coli_ Anti-Microbial Satellite (EcAMSat) was an effort by NASA Ames research Center and Stanford University [236]. This autonomous 6U CubeSat (see Figure 16a), dedicated to biological research, was launched in November 2017, with the primary objective of studying the impact of space conditions, such as microgravity, on antibiotic resistance. Escherichia coli cells were loaded into micro-wells and stayed dormant until the initiation of the experiment, where they were re-hydrated with a nutrient rich solution, enabling their growth. After a 48 h period, _E. coli_ cells were exposed to a commonly used antibiotic, namely the gentamicin, at various concentrations. The growth and metabolic activity of the bacteria were monitored using Alamar Blue, an indicator which changes color in response to cellular respiration. After transmitting the results back to Earth and post analysis, an exhibition of higher resistance with comparison to the control results on Earth was found. These findings not only helped understand the antibiotic resistance of _E. coli_ but also highlighted the need for further research about microbial adaptation in space, a phenomenon that could potentially pose risks in prolonged space missions. One significant step towards applying technologies such as the lab-on-chip (LOC) technology in space was the LabSat mission [237]. Launched in 2022, this 2U CubeSat was a collaboration between researchers from SatRevolution (Wroclaw, Poland), the Wroclaw University of Science, and several other European academic institutions. The payload consisted of a controlled-environment laboratory and optical detection systems, including CCD cameras. The temperature, humidity, and light exposure were precisely maintained  
Figure 15: (**a**) The CubeSat GeneSat-1. Image credit: NASA [234]. (**b**) The Organism/Organic Exposure to Orbital Stresses (O/OREOS) CubeSat. Illustration by NASA/Chris Beasley [235]. to allow optical conditions for biological cultivation and the use of LOC enabled the automation of important processes, such as nutrient delivery. The first objective was to assess the behavior of Fusarium culmorum, a model fungus of its resilience. The second objective was to explore the feasibility of plant cultivation in space, using Lepidium sativum seeds. Unfortunately, due to communication and power supply issues, LabSat was unable to demonstrate and investigate its objectives. However, the lessons learnt from this mission highlight the need for meticulous design methods for missions including biological experiments. Another mission that utilized lab-on-chip technology was the AstroBio CubeSat [238], which can be seen in Figure 16b.